Honor of the Undying
by IrishSister
Summary: Undyne is a young monster recently inducted into the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Monsters. A passionate and enthusiastic warrior, she is eager to prove to Asgore and the other guards that she is fit to protect her people and work toward a goal of escaping the Underground. But how far is she willing to go to prove her loyalty? Rated M for dark content in later chapters.
1. Chapter One: Induction

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " _'Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.' **_

Undyne is an up-and-coming new member of the royal guard. Her childhood hero has some advice to give, however...

 **Chapter One: Induction**

It was an exceptionally good thing that the ceremony required that her visor be down; Undyne was sure she wouldn't have been able to keep the appropriate solemn expression on her face. Finally, after years of work, the sixteen-year-old monster wasn't only inducted into the royal guard, she'd been given a high-ranking position! It wasn't really surprising to anyone; Asgore himself had helped train the girl, after all, but Undyne still felt so giddy and proud that she was fit to burst.

She gazed through the visor of her helmet at the room full of monsters, searching for one in particular... ah! There she was. Alphys, the shy and geeky little dinosaur-esque monster, was in the front row, looking right at Undyne. The fish monster grinned so widely that it hurt. ' _I'm gonna make you so damn proud of me, you nerd. Just you wait_.'

Undyne's attention was drawn away from her friend by the King's approach. In unison, as they'd practiced, Undyne and the five other new guardsmen knelt. One by one, Asgore touched the tip of his trident to their bowed heads and had them recite their oath as guardsmen, declaring their loyalty to him and their charge to protect all monsters of the Underground.

It was over all too soon. The new guards stood to applause from the other monsters in the room, and Undyne drank it in. _'I can't believe I finally made it... this is so frickin' awesome!'_ Somehow managing to keep her cool (disciplined behavior had always been the most difficult part of training for Undyne), she left the room with her new colleagues.

* * *

The celebration after the ceremony was easily ten times as awesome. The royal guard threw a huge party to welcome their new members, and Undyne was having the time of her life. Kickass music, amazing food, fellow guardsmen laughing raucously right along with her, what wasn't there to love?

As she was chuckling at one of the dog guards pulling a goofy face, Undyne felt a hand clap down on her shoulder, the fish monster jumping slightly with surprise. A slight turn of her head revealed that it was Gerson, the oldest member of the guard and a legend in his own right. " **Wa ha ha! Congrats on finally making it, ya troublemaker! Come over here, let's you and old Gerson have a chat, yeah?** "

" **You bet!** " Undyne was thrilled. She clearly remembered being a little kid and following the tortoise around, watching him kick serious bad-guy butt. Gone were the days where he'd brush her aside; she was catching up to his level fast.

Gerson led Undyne out of the training building where the party was being held, sitting down on a bench outside and nodding to the seat next to him. She did as he indicated, glancing up at the ceiling of the cave. It was dark now. Using magic, Asgore and his scientists tried to keep a regular schedule to the cycles of light and dark, "day" and "night". They did a pretty good job, she had to admit. Right now the only light from overhead was given by the glowing crystals on the ceiling. "Stars".

" **So, ya made it, ya brat. Heh.** "

Undyne grinned over at the ornery old tortoise. She knew his insults were friendly, and she'd picked up her own much of her own vernacular from him. " **Damn right, old man! Better watch out, or Asgore will be giving me _your_ job soon! Fuhuhu!**"

Gerson's expression grew keen for a moment, but it was there and gone so quickly Undyne couldn't be certain she'd really seen it. The tortoise gave a low chuckle and shrugged. " **Don't get too cocky, kid. You've still got a fair bit to prove. Though now you mention it, King Fluffybuns does actually want a word with you tomorrow. That's part of why we're talkin' right now.** "

" **Asgore wants to talk to me?** "

" **Clean your fins out, kid, I'm too old to say everything twice. Yeah, he wants to go over your assignment personally or something.** "

" **That's… awesome!** " Undyne pumped her fist in the air and gave an excited whoop. " **God, I'm so PSYCHED!** "

" **Heh.** " Gerson gazed off into the distance, looking at the jutting buildings of the Underground's capital city, New Home. Thick fingers stroked his beard, the old monster clearly deep in thought. " **Y'know, kid, this job isn't all fun and games. It's not all suplexing boulders and skewering bad guys, ya get it?** "

" **What… what'dya mean? That's what the guard is for, right?** "

" **That's not _all_ the guard is for, kid.** "

Undyne waited to see if the head of the guard would elaborate, but he'd settled into a stony silence. As hard as it was to be patient, the young monster didn't push him. He'd just retreat into his shell, so to speak, if she got obnoxious with him. He was one of the few monsters she couldn't intimidate into doing what she wanted.

Eventually he gave a heavy sigh and turned to grin at her. " **Guess I might as well tell ya, but keep it under wraps for now, alright? Don't need this getting out before it's time.** "

" **Sure, Gerson, what's up?** "

" **I'm retirin'.** "

" **WHAT?!** "

" **Keep yer voice down, ya trout! Ya heard me. I'm an old man, Undyne. My fightin' days are behind me. Kinda want to settle down, ya know? Wa ha ha… maybe open a store or somethin'… a little hole-in-the-wall deal in Waterfall sounds nice.** "

Undyne was reeling. Her hero, the guy she'd practically aspired to be, the monster who had personally saved so much of their race, was no longer going to be a guard? But that meant…

" **So wait… who are they giving the job, then?** "

Gerson let out a long, hearty laugh. " **Knew it wouldn't take ya long to get there, kid! Fluffybuns doesn't have a replacement in mind right yet, and I'm willin' to wait around a bit until he figures it out. Just figured I'd give ya a heads-up is all. Do good on your assignment and who knows what'll happen?** "

Undyne was too excited to stay sitting down. She sprang to her feet and pointed to the sky dramatically. " **I won't let you down, old man! You just wait, I'm gonna be the best freaking guard you or Asgore or anyone's ever seen!** "

Gerson held back another heavy, sad sigh, watching Undyne's back with pity in his tired eyes. " **Yeah… I bet you will, kid.** "


	2. Chapter Two: Assignment

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

An excited young guard meets with the King to discuss her new duties. This wasn't in the initial job description, that's for sure.

 **Chapter Two: Assignment**

Undyne practically sprinted through her morning routine the next day, so excited for the meeting with King Asgore that she was practically vibrating. Her first real assignment, and the one that might get her immediately promoted to head of the guard! It was a big day, indeed. The summons came while she was dressing; a text alert pinged on her phone. _'Jeez… Asgore is so informal sometimes.'_

She donned her armor, leaving the helmet off but tucking it under her arm just in case. She needed to be prepared for whatever crazy, dangerous, awesome mission Asgore would give her, after all.

The guards' barracks were close to Asgore's castle, so it didn't take long at all for the young fish monster to reach his throne room. He was watering several potted blue flowers (echo flowers?) and humming to himself, a cheerful smile on his muzzle. He looked up when Undyne entered and set down his watering can. " **Ah, Undyne! Prompt as usual.** "

" **Hiya, Asgore… er, I mean… Your Majesty.** " She shifted a little uncomfortably, unsure of how she should address him now. In training he'd always been just Asgore, but what if now he wanted her to behave more formally?

Asgore laughed and walked over to Undyne, patting her shoulder reassuringly. " **No no, just Asgore is perfectly fine, Undyne. No need for such stiff formalities.** "

" **Um, right. So, Gerson said last night you had an assignment to give me?** "

Undyne was surprised by the cold expression that crossed Asgore's face when she mentioned Gerson. Belatedly she realized that there might be something going on between them… maybe Asgore wasn't happy the old tortoise was retiring? That would make sense. He was their best and most legendary warrior.  
" **He was quite right.** " With effort, it seemed, Asgore's smile returned. " **Come, we'll discuss it over a nice cup of tea.** "

It was difficult for the impatient new guard to keep from showing her eagerness to get down to business already, but she endured. She followed Asgore to a little room off the throne area that was decorated with more flowers, cacti, and various other flora. In the middle of the room there was a table with several chairs. When prompted to do so, Undyne sat while Asgore prepared the tea on a small burner nearby.

A few minutes later, the two sat across from each other, sipping from steaming cups of tea. After thanking Asgore and waiting what she felt was an appropriately polite pause (perhaps a whole second!), Undyne blurted out, " **Asgore, I'm really pumped to get started on whatever guard stuff you've got for me.** "

The king gave a somewhat strained laugh and set down his teacup. " **Well, you always _were_ the most enthusiastic of trainees, Undyne. That's how I know this is the right job for you.**"

Undyne was unable to stop herself from beaming proudly. She watched with great impatience while Asgore fiddled with a spoon, the little utensil swallowed by his giant paws. " **Undyne. What do you know of the barrier?** "

She blinked in confusion. She hadn't known there would be a damn quiz. " **Um. Same stuff everybody knows, I guess? Humans put it there to keep us down here. Only a human with a strong soul or a monster with a human's captured soul can get out.** "

" **That's right.** " Asgore nodded and took another sip of tea. Undyne saw his paws shaking a bit. " **Well, that's not all there is to it. Seven powerful human wizards sealed the barrier. With seven human souls, it could once again be brought down.** "

Undyne nearly sprayed her tea all over the king. This was new information. " **Wh-what?!** " she sputtered, choking and coughing a bit on a too-big gulp of the hot drink. " **You mean we only need seven souls and all of us can get out of here? We don't each need to get a human soul? That's awesome!** "

Asgore looked at Undyne with a very troubled expression, bowing his head to hide it from her. " **Yes. It's much easier than you were imagining, and yet… humans fall down here so rarely. When they do, they are very cunning. Many of them hide for a long time… they fight or even kill to avoid capture. They are all very dangerous, as you know. Their souls are far, far more powerful than those of monsters.** "

" **Not mine,** " mumbled Undyne, prompting a sad chuckle from the king.

" **That may be true. I've never met any monster quite as… well. Anyhow. The task is difficult, but not insurmountably so. That is where the guard comes in. As of this moment, Gerson has already brought me the souls of three humans. Four more are required to bring down the barrier. Then, once we are free, and with me having absorbed the power of the souls, we will declare war on humans and take back the surface for monsters.** "

Undyne stared at the king with newfound awe and respect. " **Wow. That is… seriously like… the coolest damn thing I've ever heard you say.** "

Asgore smiled and shrugged. " **It's what is necessary to give our people hope. It is justice after all these years of suffering and struggling that the humans have brought on us.** " He hesitated and met Undyne's eyes at last. " **Undyne. Did Gerson tell you that he plans to retire?** "

She ducked her head a bit, trying to keep from looking guilty and failing entirely. " **He might've said something. But he's always joking around about crap like that, you know how he is.** "

" **He's serious about this, Undyne. It's an awful blow for the guard, for me… for our people. He is the only one to successfully kill a human since our imprisonment. Thanks to him, none ever made it as far as me or New Home. So many are in danger now. Humans are vicious when cornered. They will kill indiscriminately. If one were to make it to the capital city, well, I can only imagine the horrors that would ensue.** "

" **So…** " Undyne felt her stomach twist. Suddenly she didn't feel like drinking more tea. Suddenly, she didn't feel quite so awesome. " **You… want me to kill them and take their souls? Before they get to the capital?** "

There was no reply, but she didn't need one. The look on Asgore's face was answer enough. Sad, uncomfortable, but a steely undertone. His mind was made up. " **It's the only way, Undyne. It's the only way the humans left us to free our people. Don't you see how evil they were, Undyne? For us to get out, _they_ made it necessary for us to slay their own kind. They forced our hand.** "

Undyne stared down into her teacup, a nauseous feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. Beating up and capturing bad guys, that was one thing. Ripping a human's soul from their cold, dead body, after _she killed them_ … Alphys had told her the awful differences between humans and monsters. Humans didn't turn to dust right away. Their bodies took ages to decompose, the evidence of her deed would be impossible to forget… the thought was revolting.

But she couldn't let Asgore know how the idea sickened her. Gerson would soon be gone, not there to take the heavy burden. No wonder he'd said the head of the guard wasn't all fun and boulders! _'If that old man can do it… so can I. I have to be strong now, Asgore and everyone else are counting on me! This is what it means to be a royal guard.'_

Undyne looked up at Asgore's concerned face. " **Perhaps, Undyne, if you aren't ready, I can ask one of the older guards. Maybe Minos, or Basil. I forget sometimes that you're young. You may need time to adjust to simply being in the guard.** "

A rush of panic, stubbornness, and anger hit the fish monster all at once. He thought she couldn't do it! He'd all but called her a kid, all but said she couldn't keep up with the "big boys". Well, she'd show him and his dumb fuzzy face!

" **No. I can do it. I _will_ do it. You watch me, Asgore. I'll get the souls and have us out of here so fast your horns will spin.** " There wasn't a trace of hesitation now, not a smidgen of fear or disgust. There was only determination.

The king smiled proudly. " **I knew I could count on you, Undyne.** "


	3. Chapter Three: First Blood

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

Undyne meets her first human. Time to earn the M rating. You've been warned.

 **Chapter Three: First Blood**

It had turned out Undyne didn't need to be so nervous about killing humans. Years and years and years could go by without a single one stumbling into the Underground, and two years into her guard duty Undyne was beginning to think it might not even be something to worry about in her lifetime.

Still, things had changed quite a bit in the last twenty-four months. Gerson had retired, as he'd said he planned to; currently there was still a gap in his old position. Asgore still hadn't promoted anyone and had instead taken charge of the guard himself, issuing directions through messenger boys (who sent out mass texts, obviously, because who walks all the way to Snowdin?).

Undyne and several other guard members had been dispatched to protect the outlying towns of the Underground. Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland, to name a few. Undyne's dumb, meathead coworkers, Max and Ridley, were stationed in Hotland to protect the royal scientist (who was mentoring Alphys now). A big group of the dogs had settled in Snowdin, patrolling the dense and snowy forests.

To her delight, Undyne and her cousin Kel had gotten stationed in Waterfall. It was her favorite place in the Underground; damp from constant rainfall, plenty of puddles to jump in and rivers to swim in, perfectly moderate temperatures… Undyne knew she wouldn't have coped well with her other options. Waterfall actually felt like home.

She and Kel stayed in a fish-shaped house next to a snail farm run by the Blook family, and spent their days casually patrolling the caves littered with glittering crystals, sea grass, and echo flowers. Very occasionally they would settle disputes between neighbors, but for the most part the job was far more uneventful than training had led Undyne to believe.

Her cousin, Kel, taught her how to play piano and cook through some of the boring days. Alphys met up with her in the dump to look for cool stuff and talk about human history (which Undyne had to admit, sounded VERY kickass). She even got really desperate for a change of pace one day and helped Napstablook and his cousin out on their farm, building a new pen for the snails.

It was amazing, really, how fast everything could change.

Dogamy sent word that a human had been spotted on the path between Snowdin and Waterfall. When Undyne pressed him over the phone for more information, he insisted that nothing else smelled that way. It had to be true. He had only seen them for a second, but they were small and wearing a dark blue sweater.

Undyne didn't even pause to tell Kel where she was going. She haphazardly threw her armor on and sprinted out the door, trying to contain her excitement so she could think clearly. Where would a human go? Was this human dangerous; had they killed already? Undyne knew she had to find them quickly, before they had the chance to hurt anyone.

She wasn't just eager to get the soul and impress Asgore into giving her the head of the guard position. That would be ridiculous.

A quick jog past the little hole in the wall where Gerson had set up his shop and she reached a precarious walkway along a cliff edge. The craggy rocks were choked with echo flowers that had somehow taken root, no doubt gaining their nutrients from the many gushing waterfalls that poured across the paths. Undyne slowed as she crossed the water, her armor weighing her down enough that she wasn't afraid of slipping, but she didn't want to miss anything.

Up ahead, she heard a soft scratching sound. She couldn't place what it was until she rounded a corner, to see a child scribbling in a notebook while listening intently to the echo flower. The noise from the waterfalls surely made it hard to focus, and must have masked the sounds of Undyne's approach.

Wait… was this kid… this kid was the human?

This little, wimpy-looking dork?

Female, Undyne would guess, and much shorter than herself. Chubby body, long black hair, thick blue sweater just like Dogamy had said, messy black pants and untied sneakers. When the girl turned, Undyne saw the girl was wearing smudged glasses. Her head was still lowered, the child concentrated fully on whatever she was writing.

This wasn't what Undyne had expected.

From Gerson's old stories, and from Asgore's descriptions, and from Alphys' stories of human history… this couldn't be a human. Humans were deadly, ferocious, and… and…

Of course, the one Undyne would find would be practically a baby human. Of _fucking_ course.

But did it really change anything? A light spear slowly began to form in Undyne's hand without her being aware of it. Asgore needed the human souls. No, all monsters depended on Asgore getting seven human souls to destroy the barrier and free their kind. Did it matter whether the human was a child or an adult? A soul was a soul.

Undyne was still completely undecided when the human girl looked up suddenly, meeting her eyes. Fear crossed the child's face and she turned away at once, sprinting down the dangerous path. Undyne swore and chased after the girl, her armor clanging noisily as she splashed through the falls.

" **Stop running!** " she snarled when she caught up, reaching out and grabbing the frightened human by the back of her sweater.

" **P-P-Puh… Please don't h-h-hurt me!** " cried the girl, sobbing in terror, barely able to get a sentence out. " **I d-d-didn't mean to kill that moth monster, I j-j-just smacked it with my notebook and h-h-he turned to dust! I didn't h-h-hit anyone else, you have to b-b-believe me!** "

" **You killed someone?** " Undyne was disgusted and shocked. Even a little human like this was a killer? She let go of the girl and the human lurched forward, falling to her knees on the path. The child turned around and stared up at Undyne, her eyes wide with dread. Her eyes were darting from Undyne to the spear, clearly fearful of the fish monster's next move.

" **I was… considering taking you to our capital city for the king to deal with, but now…** "

" **Please… please, no…** "

" **SHUT UP! You've killed someone… you killed one of our own… this is justice… this is what the guard is for…** " Undyne was breathing heavily, unaware that her own expression was more anguished than threatening. " **I have to take your soul, I have to…** "

" **NO, DON'T, PLEASE!** "

A sickening sound of skin, flesh, and bone tearing and cracking filled Undyne's head. How many times had she thrust her light spears into a training dummy? How could it be that this felt so vastly different and horrible?

Well. For one thing, she supposed, training dummies didn't have expressions that changed when you stabbed them. Training dummies didn't cry, or gasp desperately for air, or make horrible groaning sounds of pain. Training dummies didn't _bleed_ …

Undyne was only distantly aware that she'd fallen to her knees, the spears dematerializing as she did so. That only seemed to speed the exit process for the kid; blood flow that had been blocked by the spears gushed freely from horrible, gaping wounds.

The fish monster didn't realize she, herself, was crying, as she very gently scooped the young human into her arms. " **No… no… I didn't mean… oh fuck… kid, please, don't die, it wasn't supposed to be like this…** "

The little kid's expression slowly shifted from one of fear to an awful kind of resigned sadness. She knew she was dying, and fast. " **I… h-h…** "

" **No, no, kid don't talk, that'll make it worse…** "

" **K-keep my notebook safe, please... I'm sorry I h-h-hurt anyone...** "

To her utter horror, Undyne had to witness the very moment that life left the child's body. Her eyes grew distant and glassy, then horribly blank and empty. Undyne clutched the girl tightly, sobbing and pleading for the child to come back, begging for something that couldn't happen.

Undyne was a murderer.

The echo flowers sang her own screams back to her.


	4. Chapter Four: Tea With an Old Friend

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

Undyne's mentor picks up the pieces. Undyne learns a few things.

 **Chapter Four: Tea With an Old Friend**

The next thing Undyne knew, she was in a quiet, stuffy area that smelled faintly of sea salt. Her armor had been removed and blankets were wrapped around her. Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes, and she had a pounding headache. Eventually she recognized that she was in Gerson's shop, propped up against the wall behind the counter.

Gerson was there, sitting on a little wicker folding chair, flipping through a beaten-up notebook.

Notebook…

The kid.

Undyne groaned and covered her face with her hands, her headache growing worse as the awful thoughts from before returned. When she looked up again, Gerson was looking her way. " **So, how's being a guard treating ya, kid?** "

The fish monster grumbled and pulled a blanket over her head so she wouldn't have to meet his eyes. He wasn't having that, though. The blanket was yanked away. " **Don't think that just because I'm retired I won't make you drop and give me fifty. Answer when an elder speaks to you, Undyne.** "

" **Yessir,** " Undyne mumbled. " **Guard duty was going great until today.** "

" **Yeah, figured. I heard you hollerin' from all the way over here, kid. Surprised you didn't bring half the Underground running with your racket.** " Though his words were rough, the tone was not. He sounded like he pitied her, which was definitely worse for Undyne than disappointment or anger.

" **Did you… see the human?** " Undyne managed to choke out.

" **Yeah.** " That was it. No elaboration or commentary on what had been done. Guilt rose in Undyne like bile, and she was suddenly afraid she'd be sick.

" **How did you deal with this?!** " yelled Undyne in anguish, trying to disguise it as rage. " **Were the humans you killed so little?! Did they cry and beg you to spare them?** "

" **Stop yer yellin', kid.** " Gerson grabbed a sea tea from the counter where his wares sat, mostly untouched, and tossed it to the fish monster. " **Here, take a drink and calm down. I'll tell ya what I know.** "

Undyne's hands shook so hard she could barely open the container, but soon she was sipping the glowing liquid and feeling very slightly calmer.

" **Ya gotta understand, it was different for me. I fought in the war against humans. I watched them cut down hundreds of our kind. The battlefields were so choked with dust that the sun was blocked out. It was…** "

In spite of herself, Undyne was fascinated. She'd never heard the old guard talk like this. He definitely never told her about the old times, before the barrier.

" **Well. Once we got down here, Asgore and I had a long chat. We agreed that it would be better to stay put rather than escape here, because humans would kill us once we got out anyway. But I guess once humans started falling down here, the realization hit that it would be possible to collect their souls and become more powerful. Maybe even break the barrier and win a war.** "

" **Yeah, that's what he told me. He said… he said you gathered them for him.** "

The old tortoise turned away from Undyne then, and went silent. She noticed he was just as shaky as her, and felt dread creep over her. " **Gerson… how old were the humans you killed?** "

" **We didn't stop to chat, Undyne**." _Now_ his tone was sharp. He was trying to throw her off, to get her to shut up and drop the topic, but she couldn't.

" **Were they… god, Gerson, were they all kids?** "

The old warrior stiffened for several tense moments, before letting out a long sigh. " **Yeah. Seems like not a lot of grown humans come to the mountain. But kids wander off and get into trouble. And sometimes that has consequences.** " He looked over at Undyne again, and she could see he was working very hard to keep his face neutral.

" **All of the kids had killed at least one monster. Their grubby little hands showed easy signs of dust residue. Even that young, humans are a danger to us. And even that young, they can put up a hell of a fight. See, Undyne, it's easier to make peace with your battles if they're on equal ground, ya get it?** "

Undyne thought she could understand what he was saying. The girl she'd killed… well. There'd been no fight, that was for sure. Maybe that was the cause of her guilt. Even though she'd known what she'd done was ultimately necessary, she'd gone about it the wrong way.

" **So… if I make it a fair fight, I won't feel this way?** "

" **It'll be easier to deal with. But it'll never be easy. It shouldn't be. It should never be easy to take a life.** "

Undyne winced, but nodded. That made sense. The royal guard were protectors, after all, not cold-blooded murderers. They all had people they cared about. Which reminded her…

" **Aw, shit…** "

" **Watch yer mouth, kid. We're not in the barracks.** "

" **Sorry. Um… Kel didn't see me like this, right? Or any of the other guards?** "

" **Nah. You're lucky you were so close. I got there first. Wouldn't recommend going that way for a bit though. Echo flowers are noisy right now.** "

The fish monster shuddered. Sure enough, she could distantly hear screaming from the nearby falls…

" **Hey, Gerson. That notebook, can I see it?** "

" **Sure, knock yerself out. Or don't, actually, yer too hard to carry.** "

Undyne gave a reluctant smile at the joke, and took the damp notebook. It was torn up; she vaguely remembered the little girl holding it defensively in front of her as Undyne's arm came swinging down with the spear… Ugh. Think of other things.

She opened the book to the first page. The writing was faded and smeared from the water, and the kid hadn't had neat handwriting, but Undyne was able to make out a name in the top right corner of the notebook cover. " **Annie Smythe, age 10,** " she read in a whisper. She shut the book and handed it back to Gerson.

" **Where is she?** "

" **Taken care of. I buried the body, don't you worry. No one's gonna find her.** "

" **And…. The soul?** " Undyne hated to ask. She felt horrible even thinking about it, but that was the entire reason why she'd killed in the first place. Hopefully it hadn't faded or been destroyed…

" **I got that, too. Little thing didn't leave your side.** " Gerson pulled out an empty pickle jar, handling it like it was precious gold, and handed it to Undyne. Sure enough, there it was; a three-dimensional little heart shape, pulsing with soft light and giving off warmth. It was shifting between several different hues of purple.

" **Wow… it's so pretty, I've never seen one before,** " muttered Undyne, transfixed by the little glowing essence. Even stronger than the warmth between her hands, she could feel the power this tiny human soul contained. How easy it would be to absorb it, to become stronger than anyone ever imagined…

" **Kid!** "

" **Huh?** " Undyne came back to reality, and realized that the jar had cracks where her fingers had squeezed it too hard. " **Oh, shi… er. Sorry.** " She carefully set the soul on the counter before getting to her feet and handing the blankets back to Gerson. " **Guess I should take this to Asgore.** "

" **Good plan, kid. Remember what I said. Make sure it's a fair fight next time and you'll do better. Sure as shootin'.** "

" **I won't forget.** " She didn't think she ever could, no matter how much she wanted to.

" **Don't go the long way. Have the riverperson take you to Hotland and take the elevator.** "

" **Right, thanks for the reminder.** " As if anything could have convinced her to walk through those echo flowers right now. " **And… thanks for everything else too, Gerson.** "

" **Eh, don't get mushy, kid.** "

" **Mushy? What're you talking about? I'm a guard! I'm tough! I like to eat rocks!** "

The two of them parted with a chuckle, Undyne carefully cradling the jar containing the soul. Her armor was stacked outside of Gerson's shop, and had clearly been cleaned. She was confident no one would take it; she could come back later and pick it up.

Before she knew it, Undyne was standing outside Asgore's throne room, hesitating before walking in. This was her last moment with the soul before… well, she didn't know where or how Asgore stored them, actually. Undyne looked down at the little violet heart and gave a reluctant smile, pressing her fingers to the glass. To her surprise, the soul responded and pressed lightly back.

Just that tiny action threatened to break Undyne, but she had to be strong. " **Forgive me, Annie,** " she begged in a whisper. " **You'll be saving a lot of people, I promise it's not in vain.** " Before she could waver any further, Undyne stepped into the throne room. Asgore was shuffling through papers of some kind, but looked up when she entered.

" **Howdy, Undyne! What can I do for you…?** " The king's voice trailed off when he saw what she was holding. His eyes grew wide and he looked almost scared.

Undyne straightened her shoulders and gave him a wide smile, refusing to show weakness before him. " **Told ya I'd do it, Asgore! Ha! Took a couple years, but I got it.** " She approached his throne and presented the soul to him. Slowly, seeming to hesitate, Asgore took it from her.

" **I'm glad you weren't hurt, Undyne, I know how vicious they can be.** "

She shifted uncomfortably, and felt another twinge of guilt, but it was drowned out when Asgore stood and beamed down at her. " **Thank you, Undyne. Thank you from the entire Underground! We are now one step closer to reaching the surface once more. You have done well.** "

Undyne couldn't help but smile in return, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. " **Aw, geez, Asgore, I'm blushing over here.** "

" **No, it's true. I was planning on doing this anyway, but now this seals it. Undyne, at the next induction ceremony, you will be officially appointed as the head of the royal guard.** "

She might have thanked him, she wasn't sure. The next thing she was aware of, Undyne was home. Kel shouted at her, saying things like _oh I was so worried_ and _where have you been_ … but the exhaustion and torrent of negative feelings was too strong to pay attention to her well-meaning cousin. Undyne entered her room without a word and flopped down onto her bed. She'd forgotten to pick up her armor… maybe tomorrow.

Maybe tomorrow she wouldn't feel this way.


	5. Chapter Five: Puzzles and Presents

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

Undyne begins to learn how to cope, and prepares herself for next time. Bonus holiday references; tried to lighten the mood a bit.

 **Chapter Five: Puzzles and Presents**

Her nightmares revealed the true reason for Undyne's spirit-crushing guilt over Annie's death. In the dreams she had for the first week, every night reliving the events, at the last moment Annie would morph into someone she knew. It made sense now, she was surprised she hadn't noticed it sooner.

Chubby, nerdy, short girl with glasses and a cute stutter. Alphys.

No wonder the nightmares were relentless. Kel was obviously worried, and Undyne felt bad about that, too. She began to train herself to have completely silent night terrors, so she wouldn't wake her longsuffering cousin. She worked hard on detaching herself from Annie's death, which meant spending a lot of time with Alphys to remind herself that the two were not in any way linked.

To keep her behavior from mirroring the mess she was inside, Undyne began to overcompensate. She'd always been rowdy, energetic, and loud, but now she cranked it up a thousand fold. Most people didn't notice that much had changed; they just seemed to figure she was growing into her adult personality and it was an amplified version of who she'd always been.

But not Kel, annoyingly enough.

Still, at least her cousin gave her the courtesy of not prying after the first week or so. She'd learned that she would get no answers from her hardheaded relative and instead just worked on being there to support her. The piano and cooking lessons continued, though Undyne threw herself into them with such gusto that they now had to have the piano and the stove repaired frequently.

As if the universe itself realized how much Undyne needed a break, things went back to the regular grind almost immediately. Asgore had (thank god) not told anyone what Undyne had done to get her big promotion, only naming her service to the kingdom as his reason. In spite of being the head of the royal guard now, not much changed. She gave orders and looked over daily reports, and it helped steady her.

Just short of a year after the incident, Kel suggested that they set up traps for future humans. She was no dummy; she'd heard what Undyne had done (though of course she would never bring it up to her). The kind monster wanted to make sure she could spare her cousin further guilt. If they could capture humans instead, and bring them directly to Asgore to handle, Kel thought it would take a burden off of Undyne.

Undyne wasn't keen on the idea at first, but when Kel suggested using their old piano as a magical door key it caught the fish monster's interest. Undyne excitedly explained the idea to Alphys, who designed a music box to fit the job. They also used a big red marble-like toy they'd found in the dump as bait to draw the human in. Alphys (who was quickly impressing Undyne with her knowledge and passion for engineering) made it so that after the marble was activated, it would stun whoever picked it up.

The head of the guard was quite pleased with the trap she'd set, and after a few test runs she was sure it would do the trick. The statue now contained the music box, the marble was labeled as an artifact, and the clues were written on the walls. It felt nice to have built something, even if a human never came across it.

As more and more time passed, it grew ever easier for Undyne to fall into a routine and pretend that she wasn't dreading the day another human appeared. It gave her plenty of opportunity to practice what she would do, so that she would at least be prepared next time. She must have written and crumpled up a thousand different monologues by now, determined to have it absolutely perfect.

She was thrilled when Alphys asked her over the day after the winter gift-giving festival via a social network private message. Undyne hated Hotland with a bloody passion, but she couldn't say no to one of her best friends. Besides, if she went on the riverperson's boat, it was a mercifully short trip. Since the two hadn't seen each other on the traditional gift-giving holiday, Undyne made sure she brought along the gift she'd meticulously picked out and fixed up for Alphys.

" **Tra la la~… you can never have too many hot dogs~! ... Sadly this is not true.** "

Undyne grinned. The riverperson was weird, but in a way the fish monster found funny and neat. Always singing cheerful, seemingly random tunes and giving off-the-wall advice. What a guy. Girl? Person. She thanked them as always for the ride once they reached Hotland, and quickly jogged to Alphys' apartment off the lab where she worked part-time under the royal scientist.

" **Oh! H-hi, Undyne, I'm g-glad you made it.** " Alphys gave Undyne a shy smile as she entered, and Undyne grinned widely back, stretching her arms over her head and enjoying the coolness of Alphys' house. The lizard monster was always so considerate of Undyne's temperature preferences when she visited.

" **Hiya, Alphys. So what did you wanna do today? Oh, hang on, presents first. Here, open it open it open it!** " Undyne shoved the box covered in multiple colors of wrapping paper into Alphys' unsteady hands, sitting down on the floor in front of the couch so she could watch her friend's reaction to the gift.

" **Aww, Undyne, you d-d-didn't need to get me anything,** " said Alphys, though she was clearly pleased. Undyne bounced a little impatiently while her friend opened the gift, beaming as she finally opened the box. Inside was a tiny figurine of Alphys' favorite character from her human history shows, a human girl with cat ears.

" **Oh… oh my god, Undyne, wh-where did you find this?! It's amazing, she's p-p-perfect!** " Alphys' eyes were practically shining with happiness, and Undyne felt her heart skip a little. The fish monster found Alphys so cute when she was excited.

" **Ah, y'know, around.** " She'd dug through the dump for hours looking for something from the human world that Alphys would like, and hours more fixing the little thing up once she'd found it. Cleaning off the grime, replacing busted parts and such. " **Glad you like it, nerd.** "

" **I r-really do! It's incredible, th-thank you so much.** " Alphys very carefully set down the little figurine on a table beside the couch and stood to give Undyne a hug. Sitting down, Undyne was just the right size for this. She allowed the show of affection, giving the lizard a gentle pat on the back.

" **Don't get all mushy, now. Where's my present, huh?** " she asked, clearly teasing, though Alphys answered seriously.

" **Oh, that's r-right! Hang on, let m-me grab it.** " Alphys scampered over to the closet and dug around for a bit before pulling out something huge and obviously heavy, wrapped up tightly in thick blue cloth. " **B-be careful, okay? I d-don't want you to h-hurt yourself with it.** "

Brimming with curiosity, Undyne unwrapped the item, being cautious per Alphys' request. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was; a massive broadsword, at least as tall as Undyne herself. The edge looked razor-sharp. The hilt was carved from some kind of blue stone, and the cross-guard was gold, engraved with several graceful patterns.

" **Holy shit, Alphys… this is so badass, when did you have time to make this?** " Undyne had to resist the urge to stand up and start swinging it around like the humans did with their giant swords in Alphys' historical tapes.

" **O-oh, well you know. M-my job is only p-p-part time, so I had plenty of t-time to put it together. Is it okay? It's n-not too heavy or anything?** "

" **No! No. This is so awesome, Alphys, thanks!** " Even though she'd playfully complained about it only a moment ago, Undyne jumped to her feet and grabbed Alphys in a tight hug. " **You're the best friend a fish could have, you know that?** "

" **Um… um… wow… th-th-thanks Undyne… I have to use the b-b-bathroom!** " Undyne set Alphys down and watched with a huge grin as the short lizard monster scampered off to a room that she knew was actually completely empty. After a few minutes, Alphys rejoined her in the main room and they watched some badass human historical tapes for a few hours.

For the moment, Undyne felt like the luckiest monster alive. It had been an excellent holiday.


	6. Chapter Six: Deadly Dancing

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

Undyne faces her first true battle with a human. You've been warned.

 **Chapter Six: Deadly Dancing**

The peace couldn't last, of course.

One day in spring, reports began to come in of monsters from Snowdin disappearing while they'd been out for walks in the forest, almost all of them teenagers. The disappearances were moving steadily east, from Snowdin forest right toward Waterfall. Soon, even monsters from Waterfall were going missing. Piles of dust were found along the paths.

Undyne felt she had a pretty good idea of who... or what... was causing this.

She was far more cautious in hunting the human this time. Clearly, this one wasn't like Annie, who had just been a scared little kid who killed completely on accident by swinging her notebook too hard. This person knew what they were doing, and kept doing it. In a strange way this relieved Undyne; this human sounded more like the humans that she'd been raised to see as enemies. Maybe this one would even be an adult, if she were lucky.

The fish monster sent commands to the rest of the guard to be on high alert and inform her at once if they found the human. But, like last time, it seemed fate had led the human right to her.

Undyne heard the human before she saw them. More accurately, she heard a haunting and unfamiliar melody coming from the piano trap she'd set years ago. The music was lovely, and made her pause in her tracks just to listen for a bit. As she did so, she heard a voice humming along. Slowly, trying to keep her armor from making any noise, the head of the guard approached the alcove where the piano sat.

She peeked around the corner and saw a tall girl sitting at the piano, delicately tapping away at the keys, the melody flawless and enchanting. It was hard to tell from the back, but she was definitely years older than Annie had been, and was wearing some kind of dancing outfit. Undyne felt a chill when she saw the girl's shoes; they were covered in an unmistakable chalky dust. There could be no doubt. This girl was a monster killer and had to pay.

Still, Undyne wouldn't fight her here. The piano or the puzzle she'd worked so hard on with Kel and Alphys might get damaged. Undyne moved ahead and waited. Her palms were sweating in her gauntlets and she was shaking a bit, but she rehearsed in her head what she planned to say, reminding herself why she needed to take this human down.

' _She's clearly killed monsters and hasn't been upset about it. Murder comes easily to this one; she's an awful creature that needs to be stopped before she hurts anyone else. I'm doing everyone a favor by taking her out, and her soul will get us one step closer to freedom! Just remember what Gerson said. Make it a fair fight and you'll be able to battle with no regrets.'_

Having talked herself up to what needed to be done, Undyne let a spear materialize in each hand, taking slow and deep breaths while she waited for the human. Eventually the piano playing faded, and light footsteps made their way toward Undyne. Slowly the human appeared from the shadows, not faltering in her stride even at the sight of the imposing fish monster before her. In fact, her smug smile widened.

" **Oh, hi there. You plan to get in my way, too?** "

The girl's voice was sneering, as if Undyne were a piece of gum on the bottom of her ballet shoes or something. The fish monster gritted her teeth. She'd dealt with girls like this before, back in her school days. But indeed, this girl looked very close to adulthood. It would be much easier fighting this one.

" **You're damn right, I plan to get in your way,** " Undyne growled, flicking a hand. Green tendrils of magic snaked around the dancer's legs, rendering her immobile. To the monster's satisfaction, the human looked unnerved by this, her bright blue eyes flicking down for a moment to observe what had happened.

" **I see the dust on your shoes, brat. You've killed monsters,** " the head of the guard hissed in an accusatory tone. The human's fair skin blushed red, and Undyne knew from her research with Alphys that either indicated guilt or embarrassment.

" **Only the ones that** ** _got in my way_** **,** " replied the girl in a scathing tone. " **So how about it, fish face? You gonna kill me outright? Just do it and spare me the monologue, huh?** "

" **You're not getting out of this that easily, you little…** " Undyne had to work very hard not to snap insults at her opponent. That's what girls like this thrived on; they wanted to throw you off balance emotionally so you would lower your defenses. She tossed one of the spears to the girl and began throwing light spears her way, intentionally aiming for non-vital areas.

To her delight, the girl picked up on what she had to do quite quickly. She used the spear Undyne had tossed her to block the magical attacks, her quick reflexes serving her well. Undyne's yellow eyes flashed dangerously and she said in a low voice, " **Guess that means I don't need to hold back with you, huh?** "

The fish monster couldn't help but be somewhat impressed when the girl didn't cower, but seemed to revel in the challenge, standing her ground and even deflecting attacks back to Undyne. When her green magic began to lose its hold on the human's legs, the dancer struck without mercy, delivering shockingly vicious kicks to her opponent.

Undyne responded in kind, opening several cuts on the human's body and tearing up her pretty ballet outfit. " **Ha ha… you're not bad, punk!** " she had to laugh a bit breathlessly, knocking aside another kick that probably would have cracked a rib had it landed. As it was, Undyne was beginning to think she might have a real and truly difficult battle on her hands. She and the human were quite well-matched.

" **You're… pretty tough yourself…** " panted the dancer in reply, giving Undyne what seemed to be a genuine smile. There was a competitive spirit in this human that Undyne had to respect. " **I'm… totally going to win, though… I have to get home…** "

" **Ha! Can't let ya do that, you're gonna pay for what you did! Besides, I'm doing you a favor… no one gets past Asgore…** "

" **The king? Yeah, right, the kids from Snowdin told me all about the big, squishy furball you monsters call a leader! He doesn't have the guts to kill a fly, much less me!** "

Kids. This human… had killed kids. After tricking information out of them, no less. Any respect Undyne had for the girl went out the window, and her attacks grew almost insane in their speed and ferocity. The human girl began to look winded and scared, her attacks becoming weaker and her defenses letting more and more spears through to injure her.

Finally, the human was knocked to her knees. As Undyne stepped closer and closer, she could see the girl was shaking violently, her patches of exposed skin pale from losing blood that was splashed across her outfit. Her blond hair had long since come loose from its bun and was plastered to her face by sweat. Still, she looked up at Undyne with a stubborn refusal to be broken. She wouldn't beg for her life, the fish monster could see that.

" **Tell me why, human,** " snarled Undyne, yellow eyes flashing dangerously. She pressed her spear point against the girl's throat, unable to keep from being somewhat impressed that the human didn't back away from it. " **Tell me why you killed our kind.** "

" **It won't make… a difference now,** " she whispered, her blue eyes defiant.

" **I'll beat it out of you for the next week if I have to!** " shouted Undyne in response, her body shaking with rage. " **Why did you kill monsters?! What did we do to you?! Why did you come here and bring this upon us? Those monsters you killed had families they would have wanted to go home to as well!** "

" **They attacked me first, fish face! They got in my way and were keeping me from going home! Just like you! I know you want my soul for that stupid barrier! You can't have it! I'd rather my soul shatter into a thousand pieces than help beasts like you!** " The human's voice cracked with the force of her yell, actually causing Undyne to falter and lower her spear an inch or so.

The human took the opportunity. With her remaining strength, and a cry that seemed to come from the depths of her very being, she surged to a standing position and planted her heel into Undyne's chest with such force that the fish monster's armor dented. The wind was knocked out of Undyne and she fell onto her back, gasping and trying to scramble away from the murderous human.

" **I'll kill you… I'll kill anyone who gets in my way, I'm getting home, I'm going back to my mom and dad and little brothers… I'm going back to my life, out of this hell with all you freaking monsters!** " Undyne saw that the girl intended to strike another blow, and in defense the head of the guard thrust out her hand, unwittingly sending several spears flying in the human's direction.

When Undyne looked up again, her stomach turned, but not as badly as it had when she'd seen Annie dead. The human dancer had been skewered through several vital points, and was pinned to the cave walls with Undyne's light spears. Wincing from the pain of her injuries, the monster got to her feet very slowly and cautiously. Her body was damaged, but it would heal, she was certain. Right now, she had to worry about something else.

The human's soul was stubborn about leaving its body; it fought Undyne just as hard as the living girl had. But Undyne's will was stronger, and soon she had the pulsing blue heart clenched in her fist. It grew hotter and hotter with the soul's rage at being contained, but she refused to let go. Her spears dematerialized and the girl's body dropped into Undyne's waiting free arm. Calmly she carried it to a ledge of one of the high docks and tossed it into a waterfall, watching as the body was carried away on waves of dark foam.

Only then did Undyne see that the ballet shoes had fallen off, but she decided to just leave them. What did it matter now? The human wouldn't be needing them, wherever she ended up. Slowly she made her way to the capital once more, shaking from exhaustion and the pain of her injuries, but refusing to rest until she'd delivered the dearly-won soul to Asgore. It was strange… her own soul seemed distanced from what she'd done, as if…

As if with each kill, it would become easier and easier.


	7. Chapter Seven: A Promise

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud**." _'Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts._ '**

Kel tries to confront Undyne, who is close to the breaking point. Decisions are made that will drastically affect what comes next.

 **Chapter Seven: A Promise**

" **Undyne, I've had enough. You can't keep pretending everything's okay.** "

The head of the guard glanced up from the tea she'd been staring blankly into, meeting the angry magenta eyes of her concerned cousin. Man, if there were a list of shit she didn't need right now, this would top it. Undyne gave an irritated sigh and poked the middle of Kel's forehead roughly, her other hand tensing on the dining room table in anticipation of a fight. She should have known this was coming. After her second encounter with a human just a few days ago... well, she'd been unable to get back into anything. But she definitely didn't want to talk.

" **Butt. Out. It's none of your business, twerp.** "

" **I know what you did, Undyne. You can't tell me it doesn't affect you! I've seen how you've changed...** "

" **Damn it, Kel, can't you just give it a rest? Being head of the guard is tough enough without you nagging me!** "

Undyne felt a bit guilty for that one; clearly she'd hurt Kel's feelings. She wished her cousin would yell or get upset, it would make fighting with her so much easier, but instead the other fish monster grew quiet and draped a loving arm around her shoulder.

" **I'm sorry. I don't want to make it harder for you. I'm just worried, Cuz. After the first one...** " Kel paused, feeling the subtle but growing tension from her relative. " **You changed. A lot. But now, it's like... it's like you're numb, or something. It's a little scary. I just want the old Undyne back, y'know? I want you to be okay again. If it means talking to Asgore...** "

" **I. Am. Fine. Please just drop it, Kel. Please. You've got me begging here, punk.** "

There was a long, strained moment of silence before the green-tinted fish monster sighed in defeat. " **Alright, alright.** " Undyne heard an undertone of mischief in the other woman's voice, though, and wasn't surprised when the arm around her shoulder suddenly had her in a headlock. " **Surprise noogie attack, ahhh!"**

" **Oh, it's ON, jerk!** "

A violent but extremely fun pillow fight broke out following a chase to their shared room, ending only when they accidentally broke a window and had to stop to clean up the glass. Kel looked over and saw Undyne actually smiling for the first time in days, and decided to chance it.

" **Hey, I got an invite from Doggo to hang out with the Canine Unit in Snowdin. You should come. They miss you.** "

Undyne glanced over, her interest piqued. " **Grillby's?** "

" **Obviously, it's the best hangout spot in town.** "

" **Mmm, grease... cheese fries... ah, what the hell. Sure, I'm in.** "

Kel beamed at her cousin, pleased that she'd gotten her to agree on any kind of social outing. She just hoped it would do Undyne some good.

An hour or so later, the two had arrived in the wintry town. Luckily it was only a couple of blocks from the riverperson's boat to Grillby's; neither monster liked the perpetually cold weather in Snowdin. The warmth of the diner was a welcome change, and they went right over to the tables that the dogs had taken over.  
When they saw Undyne with Kel, the furry guards practically jumped their boss with hugs and affection. That, more than anything else could have, drew out a real laugh and smile from Undyne, and she began to unwind for the first time in... Well, she didn't even know how long. It was wonderful to just eat some junk food and hang out with old friends, and forget about her problems.

After being there almost the whole day, Undyne and Kel reluctantly pried themselves away from the group; they wanted to get back to Waterfall before dark. As the two were walking toward the riverperson's stop, however, a flurry of snowballs hit Undyne's back.

She turned and glared furiously at the perpetrators, who turned out to be... kids. A bunch of very angry-looking kids, ranging from pre-to-late teens. " **What the heck is your problem, jerks?** " she shouted at them, causing Kel to turn around as well.

" **We know what you did to Vickie, you big meanie!** " piped up one of the younger-looking monsters, tears streaming down their face.

" **What the... who are you even talking about, punk?** "

" **Vickie Rose is the girl that came through here. The one with the dancing shoes, remember?** " An older monster replied this time, a brightly-colored bird monster with sunglasses that couldn't hide an upset expression. " **She started a club with us in Snowdin forest. She was our super cool friend. And you made her go away, Miss Undyne. You made her fall down.** "

Undyne felt like a huge hand was gripping and twisting her insides, but she refused to show weakness, not in front of these dumb kids. " **You brats don't understand anything. She was a human, idiots! She killed monsters. I stopped her. That's what the guard is for. Come complain to me when you've done anything to help your people.** "

The head of the guard twitched when she felt Kel's hand on her shoulder. She should have known it was a mistake to come here; she should have known it would backfire somehow. Before she could do something dumb or violent, Undyne turned on her heel and stormed toward the boat, her cousin close behind. When they reached the boat and actually got on their way, Undyne buried her face in her webbed hands, wishing she could rip out whatever had her insides in such turmoil.

Undyne couldn't believe she'd had it wrong. So, so wrong. The human girl, Vickie, she hadn't killed kids. She'd been telling the truth; she'd killed only monsters that attacked her first. Not only that, but she had apparently made such good friends with the kids of Snowdin that they were now turning against the guard.

" **Kel...** "

" **I'm sorry, Cuz, I had no idea they'd be there, I didn't know that they'd made friends with...** "

" **Why do I feel this way, Kel? I'm just doing my damn job, why does it feel so WRONG?!** "

Undyne would normally rather gouge her own eyes out than cry, but her cousin gently hugging her sent her already-frayed nerves over the edge. Soon she was clinging to the other monster and just sobbing silently into her shoulder. Kel did her best to comfort the distressed guard as they reached their destination, whispering a quick thanks to the riverperson, who was silent for once.

Kel made herself a promise, then, that she'd personally see to the capture of another human should one fall down in their lifetimes. She wouldn't let Undyne go through this torment again.


	8. Chapter Eight: Magic Bullet

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

This chapter will begin from Kel's perspective and end in Undyne's. Violence warnings and all that.

 **Chapter Eight: Magic Bullet**

Kel was relieved that Undyne was getting out of the house more, finally. It had been three long, blessedly peaceful years since a human had been spotted in the Underground, but for a decent stretch of time the fish monster had feared that her cousin would never recover from her grief. If she were honest, Kel didn't think she could ever forgive Asgore for the burden he'd put on Undyne. That responsibility should have been _his_ to bear, but instead he'd foisted it on a sixteen-year-old young woman without the life experience to know what she was getting into.

Her long, webbed fingers stroked the keys of their piano, absentmindedly playing a little tune to herself. Undyne was over at her little scientist friend's house for the weekend, to binge-watch movies or something. Kel couldn't help but smile at the thought. Her headstrong relative believed every word the little lizard monster said, and Kel didn't have the heart to tell her that what she was watching was a cartoon, not an accurate depiction of human history. She supposed it came from being older; she naturally wanted to indulge Undyne's more childish behaviors.

She also supposed that was why she had asked the guard to go behind Undyne's back like this.

It had only been protective instinct, she tried to tell herself. She wanted to save Undyne from having to take another life, and put the burden squarely where it belonged. So, Kel had requested privately that if another human were spotted, the other guards tell her before Undyne so she could capture them alive. That way, Asgore got his souls and poor Undyne didn't need to suffer any more of the pain that came with killing.

So it was with dread that she answered a call from Lesser Dog, and listened to his message between his panicked yelps. Sure enough, a third human had been spotted. This one was vicious. He'd fought Lesser Dog, but seemed to change his mind at the last moment before striking a killing blow. The injured guard had then been forced to watch as the boy shot and killed one of the angsty teens that hung around Snowdin forest.

Kel urged the guard to fall back, to protect Snowdin. She would be there as quickly as possible to defuse the situation, hopefully before anyone else got hurt. Panicked now, afraid for the sake of her fellow guards and the innocent townspeople, Kel threw on her armor and sprinted toward Snowdin forest.

She had to run long enough that she almost didn't feel the cold anymore by the time she reached the long bridge, where the boy was just starting to cross. His hands and vest were coated in dust, and the brown eyes beneath his hat were cold and unforgiving. He looked so young that it startled Kel into letting him approach, getting all the way across the bridge to stand within twenty feet of her. Surely Lesser Dog had been mistaken; a boy this age couldn't be a killer, right?

The guard struggled to find the right words to get the boy to come quietly. She tried to put on an expression somewhere between understanding and stern. " **Human. Stop, please. I just want to talk, alright? There's no need for us to fight.** "

The kid gave her a sneer that sent chills down her back, and leveled his gun at her, pulling the hammer back with his thumb. Kel realized he actually intended to kill her, and felt angry. " **Why are you attacking us? We've done nothing to you. Why did you come here?!** "

" **Look, fish lady, I'm giving you to the count of ten to start running. Then I'm going to start shooting to kill. Your monster friends were real keen on trying to kill me in the Ruins, so… I'm going to take out one of you for every one that tried to hurt me. That's justice. Ten. Nine.** "

Kel saw that the boy meant it. Glowing green spots on the ground formed around the boy, and her magic caused waves of blades to shoot up and start spinning around the child, forming a deadly sort of cage. " **You'll move when I allow it and no sooner! Now, come, we'll fight where** ** _I'm_** **more comfortable, since you've been so rude.** "

The young man was cursing now, but a few cuts from the blades edging him on forced him forward as Kel carefully led him toward Waterfall. Sweat was running down her neck; this barrier of spinning magical blades wasn't easy to maintain. With any luck, she could keep it going long enough to get him away from her friends, and then have the strength to fully apprehend him.

To her relief, she made it as far as Waterfall and the docks before the garbage dump before her shield gave out. She had to let the attack fade, but turned to face the boy without fear. " **You got a name, kid?** "

The human glared at her with a look that would have destroyed her, if looks could kill. But he was cautious now, and her blades had impressed him enough that he was willing to talk. It helped that she had edged him up against a very sheer drop that would likely kill him if he lost his balance. " **I'm not a kid, stupid monster. I'm Jack, and I'm eleven years old, so there.** "

Kel saw his dusty hands reaching for his gun again, and raised her own webbed hand in warning. He froze again, and she spoke. " **Jack. You seem like a… smart kid. You like to be fair, right? How is it fair to hurt people who never did you wrong? If a girl picked on you or something, it wouldn't make sense to hate all girls because of it, right? Sometimes one or two people are bad apples, or get scared when they see someone they don't understand, but we're not all…** "

" **Twenty seven.** "

" **Er… what?** "

" **That's how many stupid monsters attacked me. The stupid lady guarding the ruins wouldn't let me kill any of them… I showed her. I've got nineteen now. Eight more and the numbers will be all evened up.** "

Kel was frozen in utter disgust and horror at this point. How could this kid be so cold and uncaring about what he was doing, when Undyne raked herself over the coals constantly for killing only _two_ humans?

She was so distracted that she didn't see his gaze shift over her shoulder, didn't even see him reach for his gun and aim right at her. She did, however, feel the bullet enter her chest, shattering right through her armor and hitting her with the full force of the boy's pure killing intent.

* * *

Undyne had left Alphys' house early that weekend. It had been fun and relaxing to spend time with the person she counted as her best friend, but something… something felt off. Kel wasn't answering her phone, and the guards hadn't sent their status updates for the day, even though she'd told them to keep her posted.

That was how she came to find herself on the dock near her home, standing right behind Kel as a human boy aimed his gun and fired a bullet directly into her chest.

There was pain.

Searing, blinding, raging _pain_. It took her a long, agonizing second to realize that the bullet had gone through Kel and buried itself in her eye. Undyne bit back screams of pain, her harsh breathing the only indication that she was suffering. It was with horror that she realized that her cousin hadn't just collapsed, but was losing form. The head of the guard dropped to her knees beside Kel at once, gathering the monster into her arms.

" **N-no… no, no no no no! KEL! Don't you die on me, you big twerp!** "

The shocked, dying monster looked up at her cousin with tears in her eyes. " **Undyne… you're hurt… I'm s-so sorry, Cuz… I t-tried to find a way… without killing the kid, but… You were right…** "

" **You idiot! Damn, it, Kel, stay with me…** "

" **I c-can't… I'm sorry… L-love ya, Cuz…** "

" **K-Kel… no… I l-love you, so you c-can't die… YOU CAN'T!** "

Undyne's shrieks faded into pained gasps as her cousin turned to dust. Slowly, through her one good eye, the guard focused in on the person… no. The _thing_ that had taken her only family from her.

" ** _You._** "

The boy looked troubled, to whatever credit of his remained. There was a shred of empathy in there somewhere. Undyne's smile was scaring him, though, and he raised his weapon up to fire again…

 _Click. Click. Click._

The gun was empty.

" **Aw, what's the matter? All out of bullets, huh? Here, have a few spears instead!** "

Undyne felt nothing but a seething gratification and hatred as she rained light spears down on the kid at a rate no one could have dodged. She took joy from watching him suffer, watching him slowly become aware that he was dying as each spear ran him through. It wasn't enough. She wanted to obliterate him, until not a shred remained…

Finally, the furious monster's energy waned, and she let her weapons fade. Her hand reached forward, almost of its own volition, and forcefully ripped the soul from the boy's body. With nothing to hold him up, what remained of the kid's physical form fell over the edge of the dock and down to the dump below. As her energy faded, Undyne's sorrow returned in full force, but she had one last duty to her cousin.

After harshly bundling the soul in a torn piece of her shirt and stuffing it into her pocket, Undyne carefully scooped Kel's dust into the deceased guard's helmet, to save for a proper funeral. She tried to keep it together, but her tears poured fast and heavy into the powdery remains.

" **Kel… you** ** _fucking idiot_** **,** " she whispered while she worked, her voice heavy with grief. " **You th-thought humans could be reasoned with… you thought they could have** ** _mercy_** **? Guess we both had to learn the hard way, huh? Well, don't you worry, Kel. I won't make the mistake of hesitating. Never again.**

" **I promise.** "


	9. Chapter Nine: Undyne Tells a Few

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

Undyne adjusts to life alone, and a certain monster pursues his dream of becoming a guardsman.

 **Chapter Nine: Undyne Tells a Few Fib(ula)s**

When she would look back on her life later, those first weeks after losing Kel were mostly a blur, with a few painful moments sticking out in her memory. She remembered violently refusing to let a healer restore her eye, wanting to keep a physical reminder of why humans couldn't be trusted. She remembered the Canine Unit at Kel's funeral, all pitifully whimpering and howling; they'd loved her just as much as Undyne had.

She remembered approaching Asgore, right after Kel's death, still holding her cousin's remains as she passed over the sixth soul to him. The guard had never seen the king looking more horrified than he did at that moment, and she immediately let go of any bitterness she might have harbored toward him for giving her this duty. He was so kind and gentle… these evil humans would have utterly destroyed him, no matter how physically powerful of a warrior he was. He didn't have the determination necessary to cut them down. No wonder he needed the souls to become strong.

There were a few moments in those dark times when she had been reminded of the goodness of her friends. The Canine Unit had crashed in and around her place for several days and wouldn't leave no matter what she said to them. They seemed to understand, more than anyone, that she could not be alone right now. Every time she woke up crying, remembering that her family was gone now, one of them was there to comfort her. It meant more to her than she would ever know how to tell them.

After the dogs left, Undyne remembered that Alphys and Gerson checked up on her frequently. Alphys didn't say much regarding the incident; she seemed terrified of making Undyne angry or sad by talking about it. She was just there for her friend, to watch bad movies and eat bad food and make more good memories to try and outweigh the awful things that had happened. Gerson was there to share her pain, no words necessary; he understood Undyne's loss and guilt better than probably anyone else in the Underground.

Even though at first it felt like time would never move forward, of course it continued its steady onward march. And, as it passed, the pain became easier to deal with, and Undyne began to pick up her old habits again. She knew Kel wouldn't want her to wallow, and set about trying to take up new activities to fill the empty days. The guard practiced piano frequently now, refusing to forget the one beautiful thing that she and Kel had shared a passion for. She kept cooking, too, with just as much passion, but far less skill, often to hilarious results.

She began teaching a neighbor, Shyren, to play the piano, and grew to understand why Kel had enjoyed teaching so much. It felt wonderful to pass on a skill to someone else.

And then, of course, there was that fateful night when a new friend would make his obnoxious way into her life.

 _BANG. BANG. BANG._

Undyne jerked awake from a nightmare about the awful human with the gun, panting and sweating, only to hear that the pounding sound that had been the firing of the weapon in her dream was actually someone knocking. Loudly. At _fucking midnight_.

A light spear materialized in her hand and she stormed toward the door, flinging it open to reveal a tall, broad-boned skeleton, who looked absurdly pleased with himself. " **What the…** "

" **AH! YES, YOU'RE UNDYNE, CORRECT? NYEH HEH HEH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME TO JOIN THE ROYAL—** "

SLAM. Undyne groaned and rubbed her eyes. She could still hear the big doofus talking through the door, his enthusiasm barely muffled by the obstruction.

" **IS THIS MY FIRST TEST?! WOWIE! DON'T WORRY, MISS UNDYNE, I'LL MAKE YOU PROUD, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES!** "

 _'Is this Hell? It feels like Hell. What did I do to deserve this…?'_ Internally grumbling, Undyne ignored the skeleton's shouts and stomped back to bed, flopping down and snoring away in seconds.

When she woke up the next morning and was about to leave on her patrol, however, she found the skeleton standing exactly where she left him, still beaming proudly. She had to admit, it was impressive in a dumb kind of way. " **Wow. Nothing better to do, huh?** "

" **GOOD MORNING, MISS UNDYNE! DID I PASS THE TEST? I WISH VERY MUCH TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD!** "

Undyne groaned and almost face-palmed, before she remembered she was wearing a heavy gauntlet and would probably knock herself unconscious. She'd gotten a few eager recruits for the guard before, sure, but usually they gave up pretty quickly or became intimidated by the training. Still… this guy's persistence was beyond what she'd seen before, she had to admit.

" **Ugh. Alright, c'mere. Papyrus, you said?** "

" **YES, MA'AM!** "

" **Fantastic. Alright, Papyrus, let's see what you've got.** " She led him to a corner of her yard, where she kept a training dummy for occasions like this. " **Show me your deadliest attack. Hit that dummy with all your power. Let's see if you have the strength to be a guard.** "

The skeleton looked uncomfortable, and glanced between the dummy and Undyne several times. " **SORRY TO DISAGREE, MISS UNDYNE, BUT THE DUMMY HAS DONE NOTHING TO HARM ME. IT HAS NOT ATTACKED FIRST. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CANNOT DO AS YOU'VE ASKED.** "

Undyne actually cracked a smile at that. _'What a marshmallow. Still…'_

" **Oh, so you can't hurt anyone that doesn't attack you first? What if you have to apprehend someone, under orders, who refuses to attack you but won't come quietly?** "

" **W-WELL… THEN I WOULD SIMPLY TIRE THEM OUT AND CAPTURE THEM! NYEH HEH HEH! YOUR TRICKY QUESTIONS CANNOT STUMP THE GREAT PAPYRUS!** "

" **Oh, so that's how it is.** " Undyne dragged him to the other end of the yard (away from the dummy he'd refuse to hurt, apparently) and gave him a light punch. Usually she wouldn't indulge someone like this, but admittedly… she was kind of having fun. " **There. I've attacked you. Hit me with your best shot.** "

The big goof gave a wide grin, and the two began to battle. Undyne didn't counter his blows, just dodged like Asgore had with her all those years ago. The skeleton surprisingly packed a good punch with his bone attacks, managing to land a few decent hits on the head of the guard. After about fifteen minutes of watching how he fought, she had made her decision.

" **Okay, I think I've seen enough, Papyrus.** " The skeleton ceased his attacks at once, looking at her with such honest excitement that she couldn't bring herself to let him down. " **You're uh… pretty dang tough, punk. I'll give you that. But you need some… er… training, before you can officially join the guard!** " Shit, she was completely making this up on the fly, but the dork was eating it right up.

" **YOU'RE GOING TO TRAIN ME, UNDYNE? OH BOY, THIS IS GREAT!** "

" **Uh… yeah! How about this. While you're training with me, you can um… set up a sentry station in Snowdin forest. Keep a watch for humans for me. Once you've completed your training, or bring me a human, whichever comes first, I'll officially induct you into the guard.** "

 _'As if that'll ever happen.'_

And just like that, Papyrus became a permanent fixture in Undyne's daily routine. She slowly grew more and more attached to the big-hearted goofball. Deep down, the head of the guard knew that Papyrus wasn't cut out for a soldier's life, and very much doubted that he could survive in a fight with a human. So, she shifted their "training" to actually be cooking lessons, hoping he would pick up on that and maybe find that he had a different passion.

She also ended up hiring his brother, Sans, as a sentry. When she asked the guy how many stations he thought he could handle, he just gave her a cheeky grin and said, " **however many you can throw at me.** " Well, how could she refuse confidence like that? It turned out that he was ridiculously lazy, always sleeping on the job and messing around, taking way too many breaks… and yet he managed to just scrape by, each time she evaluated him, no matter how many stations he'd taken on.

As the years slowly passed, Undyne grew comfortable in her life. Since there had been such little time lapse between the last three human sightings, she'd almost forgotten how much fun she could have when she wasn't worrying all the time. Four years passed with no trace of human activity. Then three more. Undyne was now twenty-nine, and was almost sure she would never see a human again, for which she was grateful.

Honestly, she should have known better.


	10. Chapter Ten: Conflicted

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

The human with the final soul necessary for freedom approaches. The battle is close at hand. Will Undyne have the determination to finish this?

 **Chapter Ten: Conflicted**

By now, Undyne had issued orders that any humans be killed or captured on sight and brought immediately to her (or their soul, whatever was left really). She had long since forcibly rid herself of any reservations about treating them as enemies; watching a human kid murder her family in cold blood had helped a good bit with that. So it was understandable that Undyne was angry when reports began to come in of another human making their way toward Snowdin, and no serious effort had been made to kill it.

She expected hi-jinks from Papyrus and Sans, naturally. Their method of capturing humans involved goofy puzzles and pranks, and she liked the skeletons way too much to seriously ask them to be violent. But for the _entire_ Canine Unit to directly disobey her orders, give up their attempts to apprehend the human, to befriend the creature… it was unthinkable. They knew what humans were capable of; they'd fought that brat with the gun! And yet, they refused to capture or kill the human. It was maddening.

Still, what little they had said kept her from storming to Snowdin and taking care of the problem herself; apparently this human had harmed no one. Not a single monster. In fact, several of the monsters didn't even recognize the creature as human, since it was so kind and gentle with everyone it came across. No matter how much Undyne hated humanity, the idea of killing someone who hadn't done any harm still chilled her. She wasn't heartless, after all.

So, for the time being, she decided to wait and watch. Let the kid approach Waterfall. She promised herself that if the human made it to Waterfall, she would somehow build up the nerve and take them out. This would be the last one. One more soul, and Asgore would become godlike and free all monsters from the Underground. They were so close… Undyne couldn't afford to let feelings get in the way now. One life wasn't worth putting everyone's hopes on hold any longer.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

She waited impatiently in the spot where she and Papyrus usually met up; a nice, dim little area in Waterfall that wasn't really noteworthy aside from the presence of some clumps of sea grass. He was a bit late, and it was making her nervous. Papyrus was a tough fighter; what if the human got frustrated and killed him just to get by? The skeleton was way too softhearted, he would never kill, not even to defend himself against an evil human, and the big dolt might even try to befriend them and then…

A flash of red from the corner of her eye stopped Undyne's frantic thoughts in their tracks, and relief washed over the head of the guard. Papyrus was approaching, alive and completely unharmed, though he looked guilty as all hell.

" **H-HI UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT… UHHH… REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER…** "

Definitely guilty. She'd never heard him stammer so much. Still, Undyne decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and replied in a low voice, " **Did you fight them?** "

" **…HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!** "

Since she was wearing her helmet, Undyne didn't bother suppressing a smile. _'Wow, Papyrus, acting is definitely out for you as a career. You can't lie to save your life.'_

" **Excellent. Where are they? Did you capture them?** "

" **…WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM…?** " Undyne could swear she saw beads of sweat breaking out on Papyrus's skull… " **W-W-WELL… NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END… I FAILED.** "

She decided to ease up on the poor guy. " **Don't worry, Papyrus. They're heading this way; I'll take the enemy's soul.** "

Far from looking relieved by this, her friend seemed to sink deeper into panic. **"…W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF…** " He looked so distressed, but Undyne felt her patience wearing extremely thin. She'd had it up to _here_ with everyone coddling this damned human brat.

Of course, unable to see her expression of anger, Papyrus approached a few steps, hands out in a pleading gesture. Such a bad actor. He clearly had feelings for the kid… but of course he would! _'I always knew you were a marshmallow, this is why you'll never be a guard…'_

" **BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE… YOU SEE…** "

Enough.

She turned toward him again with an audible snarl. Did he think she enjoyed this? Did he think it was easy for her? She would kill the human because _there was no other choice._

Undyne was unaware that she'd said those things aloud, but the way Papyrus stumbled back in shock and turned away from her, she realized she must have. She felt guilty now, she hadn't meant to be harsh with him, but…

" **… I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN.** "

She opened her mouth to reply, to apologize, but Papyrus had already walked away with quick strides. The poor skeleton had sounded so torn. ' _Don't worry, Papyrus, I'm not putting any of this on you anymore. Soon we'll all be free and you can forget about this.'_

There was a soft rustling from the sea grass nearby, and Undyne turned toward the sound with a sharp movement. She took several steps forward, a spear materializing in her hand, eyes straining to see into the grass… There was definitely something there. Two things, in fact.

One was that little armless twerp who followed her around; she could swear he was the president of the Undyne fan club. The other… obviously a human. Wearing Vickie's old ballet shoes and tutu, no less. Right next to the monster kid, of course. Their face was hard to see in this dark area, but they looked… scared.

 _Annie._

The old echoes of the screams from that day had always haunted her; she still had a rough time going through that area. But seeing this innocent little kid's face brought it all back with a vengeance. The spear faded before she could even make a conscious decision about it, and she walked backward out of the area to collect herself.

A fierce internal argument ensued as she slumped against a cave wall.

' _What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you remember the promise you made to Kel?! Get back there and destroy that thing!'_

 _'Yeah but… can I really do this? Can I really destroy another kid? Especially one that hasn't hurt anybody… wouldn't that make me even more of a murderer than I already am? What if there's another way, maybe Papyrus is right, we don't have to destroy them…'_

 _'Stop being so weak. They are the enemy, humans made that choice long ago just like Asgore said. Everyone's hopes depend on this, depend on_ you. _Have determination and FINISH THIS.'_

Undyne let out a shaky breath and removed her helmet, tugging out her cell phone to call Papyrus. She would check and make sure that the human matched the description of the kid she'd seen. Who knew, maybe she'd been spooked in the darkness and it was actually another monster child with that little yellow kid.

As she'd figured, Papyrus confirmed willingly enough what the human had been wearing. A dusty old tutu and ballet slippers. ' _Well, never hurts to hope I guess. Heh… maybe it'll be easier killing them if they're wearing that dancer's stuff. She didn't go down without a hell of a fight, maybe this kid will be the same.'_

She stalked away, moving ahead of the child to prepare. Undyne clenched her fists, desperately rehearsing her monologue, trying to force away her nervous shaking. No more indecision. Time to be the hero.

Undyne would end this.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Determination

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

Undyne continues her pursuit of the human, and tries to teach a child a lesson in how to deal with enemies... but who's really doing the teaching here?

 **Chapter Eleven: Determination**

It didn't take long for the little human to catch up.

Undyne was honestly kind of impressed that the kid hadn't run screaming back to their Snowdin friends after seeing her earlier. Still, impressed or not, she had a job to do, and refused to let up until it was done. She hid in the shadows near a long dock in Waterfall, flinging a spear right in the kid's path as they approached.

The human glanced her way, a flicker of fear betraying them before they adopted a neutral expression and began to run along the dock, continuing further into Waterfall. ' _Ohh, wrong choice, punk._ '

Flashing light spears slammed repeatedly into the dock, Undyne furiously trying to skewer her quarry. Somehow, the brat managed to dodge every time, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, but it was frustrating to the guard nonetheless. This should be easy for her! She'd been training her entire life to capture and kill enemies, but this little kid was outpacing her?

Undyne pursued them along the entire dock, growling in frustration when they darted into another patch of sea grass. She stomped after them, vaguely remembering that Alphys liked this stuff and she should be careful not to ruin it, but too stubborn to let them go again. She walked slower, watching closely for any sign of movement among the plants…

 _There._

It was brief, but a few blades of the tall grass had rustled close by. She approached the spot, raising her hand gradually, and quick as a flash snatched up… the scaled, yellow monster kid. There were not words strong enough to convey her irritation, and it took a massive amount of self-control not to punt the kid back to Snowdin where they belonged, but of course she couldn't hurt a child.

Well, not a monster child, anyway. Carefully she set the kid down, and walked away. It wasn't like she could fight in an area where an innocent person might get hurt. Next time she'd have them for sure.

Except, she didn't. When she chased them along another dock, jamming spears up from underneath to try and block their path, the human _still_ managed to dodge her. After she broke off the end of the damn dock to try and send them plummeting to their death, Undyne almost completely lost it when she saw that the human had somehow survived the fall.

Well, if there was an upside to any of this, it would be that she would have no problem killing them now. They'd pissed her off too many times for that.

So, she decided to mess with them a bit the next time, maybe have a little fun with it.

She covered up the lit path that would have led the human in the right direction, and growled " **behind you** " into an echo flower at the dead end of the cave section. Not the most mature thing she'd ever done, but if it worked she didn't care. Besides, she'd look like a badass before she killed the brat.

Sure enough, the little twerp fell for it. She watched them (her vision had more time to adjust to the dark) walk right up to the echo flower and listen to it. Their little shoulders stiffened as the message came through and they turned, slowly, to face Undyne.

As she approached she kicked the covering off the lighted path so they would be able to see her. The charade had been worth the reaction; the kid was obviously scared shitless. Beneath her helmet, she grinned. She felt awesome.

At least until the seriousness of her task registered in her brain, and she adopted the appropriate solemn tone as she approached closer to her terrified prey. Her mood wasn't helped by the fact that the human had switched out the dancer's clothes for Annie's glasses and notebook. Gerson must have given them to the kid… why? Just to torment Undyne? To try and get her to stop? It was too late for any of that.

' _This is it. No more stalling._ '

" **Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king… King Asgore Dreemurr… will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity, and give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured.** "

The kid's face betrayed their dread, but showed no real surprise; they'd clearly heard something along these lines before. Of course. Their innocent schtick back in Snowdin probably resulted in plenty of people warning them that Asgore would not let them go free.

" **Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption.** " As she spoke, Undyne struggled to make herself believe her own monologue. " **Give up your soul, or I'll tear it from your body.** " She materialized a spear in her hands and took a few steps toward the kid, waiting to see if they'd fight.

They seemed frozen, shocked into stillness. They couldn't run with the guard blocking the only exit, and if they wouldn't defend themselves, this was Undyne's chance to end it quickly. She charged forward, readying for a killing blow…

 _'_ _ARE YOU FUCKING_ KIDDING _ME?!'_

Right before she was about to jam her spear into the human, that same little monster kid jumped out in front of them, shouting enthusiastically. " **Undyne! I'll help you fight!** "

Undyne was fairly certain that her mind was overwhelmed with so much rage that it was short-circuiting. For the moment, all she could do was stand there, frozen much like the human. The monster child looked between the human and Undyne before focusing on the human.

Of course they'd be friends. Why not? The entire damned universe seemed out to thwart Undyne at this point.

" **Yo! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!** "

This dunce didn't even realize that the human _was_ a human. She'd heard from the Canine Unit that such was the case in Snowdin, but seeing the stupidity in action was far more jarring. The kid looked from Undyne to the trembling human again, looking massively confused. Maybe it would dawn on him and he'd _fucking move…_

" **…** **wait. Who's she fighting?** "

That was it. Last straw. Undyne let the spear fade and snatched the kid by the side of his head, dragging him away from the human and back toward Snowdin.

" **H-hey! You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?** "

" **You better believe I am, punk…** "

Undyne's rage faded as she continued walking the kid home, and she gradually came to a stop. This kid reminded her of herself, in a way. She clearly remembered being about this monster's age, following Gerson around… suddenly she felt ashamed, her eyes flicking over to the entrance of the old tortoise's shop. Gerson had been a lot nicer to her than she was being to this little kid. What kind of example was she setting by acting this way?

' _No. Don't back down. One more soul, remember? Then everyone will be free to achieve their dreams.'_

She gave a huge sigh and turned to look down at the kid, letting go of him. " **Look. I won't tell your parents, okay? But you gotta understand something, kid. That human? They're not your friend. You need to stay away from them.** "

" **Yo… they're human? I thought they were just a monster kid, like me!** "

" **No. They're your enemy, you understand? They're everyone's enemy. You heard what I was saying before about humans, right?** "

" **Y-Yeah, but…** "

" **No buts. Stay away from that human. Get home to your parents. Let me handle this.** "

She sternly watched, making sure the kid was well on his way back toward Snowdin before turning around and hurrying to catch up with the human she'd left behind. Sure enough, when she reached the echo flower, they were gone. Biting back what would have been a string of swear words, she stormed along the lit path after them.

She heard talking up ahead. If she hadn't been wearing her armor, she would have face-palmed. It was almost funny at this point. Undyne didn't know how he'd done it, but the little monster kid had slipped around her and caught up to the human first. She could hear their conversation, though it sounded pretty one-sided. The guard approached slowly, listening. The two kids were on a rickety, narrow bridge, and Undyne didn't want to startle the monster child into falling. He didn't have hands to catch himself with.

" **Yo, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?** "

Good lord. The kid was taking this harder than Undyne had thought he would. She saw the human smile sadly and shake their head no. Something about that look irritated the guard. Did this kid think they were somehow _above_ ages of war between monsters and humans? As if their own personal kindness would somehow make up for all the pain monsters had suffered…

" **Yo, what? So I have to do it? Here goes nothing…** " The monster kid took a deep breath. He looked tense. " **Yo, I… I hate your guts.** " He let out a big huff of air, and Undyne felt real pity for the kid when he spoke again. His voice was just so… defeated. And she'd made him feel this way. What a role model.

" **Man, I… I'm such a turd. I'm… I'm gonna go home now.** " Undyne saw him turn toward her and ducked into the shadows as he began to run, intending to let him book it back to Snowdin (finally).

And then…

" **Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!** "

 _'_ _FUCK.'_

The kid had, indeed, tripped. He was half-on, half-off the old bridge now, slipping, his short legs scrabbling desperately against the sheer cliff as he tried to save himself. Undyne stormed into the room without thinking, but paused as the human took a step forward at the same time. Her mind raced wildly.

 _'_ _Are they planning to attack when I go to help the kid? Shit, but I can't just…'_

The human had paused for a very short moment when they noticed Undyne standing there, but they had a determined look on their face. Pointedly, they looked away from her and ran to help the monster kid, giving a low groan with the effort of pulling him up. The kid was shaking like a maraca, but looked immensely grateful and relieved.

He noticed Undyne and gave her a strange look. It struck the guard that he was trying to be _scary._

" **Y-y-yo… dude… If… If y-you wanna hurt my friend… You're gonna have to get through me, first.** "


	12. Chapter Twelve: Memories and Mercy

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud.** " ' _Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

Undyne battles her final human. But what happens when the human won't fight back?

 **Chapter Twelve: Memories and Mercy**

Dumbfounded. Shocked. Flabbergasted. Discombobulated. All excellent words, none exactly right to convey how Undyne felt seeing this little punk stand between her and the human like _she_ was the bad guy. It surprised her enough to make her take a step back, even. This moment reminded her painfully of the day back in Snowdin, with Kel, when the kids had all thrown snowballs at her…

She could still hear their harsh, angry, hurt words. She could still remember the pain in their expressions, having to face the one who killed their friend. _God damn this kid for making her remember._

Undyne was storming away before her brain really caught up with what her legs were doing. The guard could hear the kid talking to the human in relief, and walked faster so she wouldn't have to hear it. Before she knew it, she was standing at the base of a jagged, rocky tunnel; the entrance to Hotland.

Her blood would have been boiling, if she had blood. As it was, the energy was too much to contain, and she gave one of the stalagmites a huge, angry punch. It shattered into pieces. Undyne stood there, trembling, looking at the rock she'd just pulverized while trying very hard to keep herself together.

 _'_ _This… this doesn't change anything. This doesn't change what has to be done. Finish this. Finish it for good, for everyone's sake, for everyone's hopes and dreams… what does a kid know, anyway? What does that kid know about sacrifice, about what it takes to save everyone? Nothing, that's what.'_

By the time the human approached the entrance to Hotland, Undyne was waiting very calmly atop the jagged hillside. By the time they looked up at her, she'd turned her back to them. Thankfully, the monster kid was nowhere in sight. He must have finally gone home, believing he'd saved the human from her.

' _Focus, Undyne. Right… where was I in that damned monologue…?'_

" **Seven. Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six. That's how many we've collected thus far. Understand?** " She turned to face them slowly, somewhat gratified by the fact that they were obviously still intimidated by her.

" **Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far… I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started, long ago…** "

 _'_ _Shit. Shit. What came next? WOW, Undyne, you're gonna look like an idiot in front of this brat, SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!'_

" **No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?** " Good cover. She finally removed her helmet with a flourish and a battle cry, tossing it aside and turning to face the human, hoping she looked a hell of a lot cooler than she felt.

" **YOU! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool… with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen. BUT YOU? You're just a coward! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!** " At this point she was clinging to any excuse to hate the human, to fight them with a clean conscience. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

" **And let's not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes-schtick! 'Oooh! I'm making such a difference by hugging random strangers!' You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!** " Even if she said this with a huge grin on her face, a lot of Undyne's pent-up grief and anger was going into this rant. All the bitterness and shame she felt about having to kill little humans, and the excuses she and Asgore used to justify it…

 _'_ _FOCUS.'_

The kid looked shocked when she refocused on them, and she gave them a smirk. " **That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom! Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment! But we're not nervous at all. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose!** "

' _That's right! Remember why you're doing this!'_

" **Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!** "

The little human kid wasn't shaking or scared anymore. They looked up at Undyne with a strange kind of stubbornness and excitement. What, were they looking _forward_ to this? Ha. She should have known. Deep down, all humans were bloodthirsty and couldn't wait to hurt monsters. Even this one would cave to that urge, she was sure. And then she would kill them.

The human stepped forward.

" **That's it, then…! No more running away! HERE I COME!** "

She jumped right down from the top of the steep hill to land in front of the human, swinging a spear with a flourish. Her green magic wrapped around the human's legs, freezing them in place. The kid looked surprised by this, and she laughed.

" **En guarde!** " She tossed them a spear, which they caught, wobbling unsteadily. " **As long as you're green, you can't escape! Unless you learn to face danger head-on… You won't last a SECOND against ME!** " She chucked three spears directly at the kid, who deflected them without a problem. Good. Maybe this would be a fair fight after all. Maybe she'd be able to finish this with minimal guilt.

The kid whispered in a soft voice that they didn't want to hurt Undyne, and asked her to stop fighting.

Undyne forced herself to ignore it, continuing to attack even though the human just blocked and didn't fight. Angry, zealous words continued pouring from her between attacks, between the kid's pleadings, the warrior _still_ trying to convince herself that this needed to be done.

" **For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending… And now, sunlight is just within our reach! I won't let you snatch it away from us!** "

In her fury, she forgot to keep the green magic strong around the human's legs. To her shock, as soon as the magic slipped, the human darted past her and into the tunnel toward Hotland.

" **HEY!** "

She ran after them, a little slower than usual because of her armor, but she managed to catch them and halt them with her magic again. She ground her teeth in irritation, glaring at the human as she turned them to face her. " **You won't get away from me this time!** "

The human looked frustrated. Good. Maybe they'd actually do something now! She tossed attacks at them at a faster pace, leaving them a few brief windows to get a good swing in… but they still never made a move to hurt her, just kept asking her to stop fighting.

" **Honestly, I'm doing you a favor… No human has EVER made it past Asgore!** " Leaving out the part that he probably hadn't ever had to face one while in the Underground… that was need-to-know information, thank you. " **Killing you now is an act of mercy! So stop being so damn resilient!** "

Holy. Fuck. It happened again. Her emotions being out of control made her magic slip, and the human fled before she could react. Against her will she let out a frustrated scream, and dashed after the kid. Fueled by pure anger, she caught them again.

The human didn't look scared anymore, just… determined. But to do what? To finally fight back? To get away? Ha. More likely they wanted Undyne to like them as much as all the other monsters did. ' _Tough shit, kid. This was decided a long fucking time ago.'_

" **You've escaped from me for the LAST time!** " The human still didn't have a single damn scratch on them, after Undyne throwing all these awesome spears. How frustrating. It reminded her of…

" **Heh… Alphys told me humans were determined… I see now what she meant by that! But I'm determined, too! Determined to end this RIGHT NOW!** " Her breath came fast now, faster than the pace of the battle really warranted. But she so desperately wanted this all to end. She wanted to get the last soul, to be the hero that freed all monsters from this prison. She wanted to leave behind her guilt and anguish and bad memories.

" **…** **RIGHT NOW!** " Still the human dodged her. No matter how many spears she threw, they were all blocked. " **…. RIGHT…. NOW!** " Not a single blow landed. Not a hair on the human's head was harmed. Their expression was pitying, concerned. She _hated it._ " **NGAHHH! DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!** "

After another huge onslaught of attacks, the human slipped away again and sprinted toward Hotland, past the flashing sign. Undyne ran to catch up, practically seeing red by this point. She screeched to a halt for a moment when she realized that the kid had _pulled out their goddamn phone_.

' _Is this some kind of joke?!'_

As the kid hung up, Undyne caught them again, seething. " **STOP RUNNING AWAY!** " She screamed, practically right in their face. The kid didn't even flinch. How humiliating. " **YOU'RE GETTING IN MY WAY! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!** " She was so undone that she hadn't even remembered to immobilize them this time. The human blocked her spears and fled as soon as they had enough of a chance.

Undyne ran after them, of course, though she dreaded going into Hotland. She couldn't just let them run away. She felt a little bit of relief when she saw Sans at his station for once, and called out for him to catch the human…

He was dead asleep.

The human ran right past him, over the bridge. Undyne screeched and pounded the counter of the station in her frustration. " **SANS YOU ARE SO FIRED, YOU LAZY SACK!** " Still snoring. Wow.

She ran across the bridge to catch the human, realizing a bit too late that this was an awful idea. She was wearing over a hundred pounds of metal armor, in what equated to an oven. All that determination that had been keeping her going began to fade in the face of sheer exhaustion. Undyne tried to summon a spear as she came to a shuddering halt in front of the human… nothing. Green tendrils of magic to hold them? Nothing.

" **Armor… so… hot… but I can't… give up…** "

How pathetic. She collapsed there, on the bridge, prone and defenseless against her enemy. Everything was getting hazy, and Undyne felt sick in more ways than one. So much effort, so much passion and determination, and it came to nothing. She almost hoped the human would just kill her and end the humiliation. Clearly, in spite of all her wishing, she didn't have it in her to take another soul.

' _Alphys… Asgore… Kel… I've failed you…_ '

Everything went black.

In spite of the miserable heat, Undyne felt something cool washing over her scales, reviving her. A caring hand rested on her head as the water flowed, a sympathetic voice murmuring encouragement…

' _Kel…?_ '

No. Of course not. She opened her eyes slowly to see the human standing over her, giving her a nervous but hopeful smile as they tried to cool her down. It was jarring, and touching, and it filled Undyne with so much shame over her actions that she felt she could die just from that. She stood suddenly, and the child scrambled back a bit, dropping the cup. Clearly, the kid was still expecting to be attacked.

But they'd acted with kindness anyway.

It was too much. Let Asgore have this one. Undyne turned away from the kid without a word and walked back toward home, fighting back tears.

 _God damn this kid for making her remember._


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Change of Heart

**" **Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud."** _'Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

Undyne wrestles with her feelings regarding the human... and a longtime friend. Can she finally be honest with herself and everyone else?

 **Chapter Thirteen: Change of Heart (and Clothes)**

It wasn't a big surprise to Undyne that Gerson was waiting for her outside his shop. After seeing the human kid with Annie's stuff, she'd known he'd been involved somehow, but this pretty much confirmed it. She paused in her trek toward home, giving a heavy sigh before turning to look at him.

" **Kid got to you too, huh? Wa ha ha…** "

Undyne frowned, but couldn't muster enough energy to really be angry at the moment.

" **Could say the same to you, old man. What the hell was that about, anyway, giving them Annie's glasses and notebook?** "

" **Kinda hoped you'd remember how it felt. Saw a lot of her in that kid, ya know? Knew as soon as I saw 'em, that kid wouldn't hurt a dang thing.** "

The head of the guard laughed bitterly and shook her head. " **Well. You were right, I guess. The brat didn't take a single swing at me, even though I chased them all the way to Hotland. What am I supposed to tell Asgore, Gerson? This is my job. He was counting on me, but…** "

" **Let him handle it, Undyne. Stop beating yerself up about it and worry about your own life for once, eh? Pretty sure Fluffybuns will understand if… or when… he meets the kid for himself.** "

What a foreign concept. Ever since she'd joined the guard, it seemed like she'd been consumed with the idea of collecting souls, shattering the barrier, and taking vengeance on humanity, usually at the expense of everything else. Oh sure, she did other stuff, and threw herself into it, but she never really loosened up or tried to fully enjoy herself.

She wasn't even sure she could anymore.

Undyne mumbled something to Gerson about having a thing she needed to get to, and began walking toward her house again. Faintly she could hear music coming from Napstablook's house as she passed by, and felt a pang of guilt. It had been a pretty long time since she'd tried to pay him a visit. And Shyren had long since stopped coming by for piano lessons. Not to mention how she'd treated Papyrus today… she made herself a promise that if he showed up for his cooking lesson, she'd be extra nice to him.

Numbly Undyne entered her house, removed her armor, and stretched her sore body. Even her fight with the dancer girl hadn't tired her out this much, and she'd been hurt far worse during that conflict. Her thoughts ran in wild, contradictory circles, the fish monster still trying to figure out what she should do.

She found herself seated at the piano, her webbed fingers lightly tracing over the keys. Thinking it might help focus her thoughts, Undyne began to play. She started with one of her cousin's favorite songs, a slow and simple but haunting melody, but ended up playing the tune that always reminded her of Alphys. Finally, she was able to process everything that had just happened.

It wasn't pleasant. She'd thought she'd made her peace with what had to be done to humans long ago. She'd thought that, no matter how awful losing her cousin to that gun-wielding human had been, it at least gave her a reason for what had to be done. Then this little brat had come along and shattered her expectations, and Gerson's too for that matter! He'd said himself that every kid he'd come across in the Underground had harmed at least one monster, evidenced by dust on their hands or the abnormal strength that came with killing.

It was tempting to be angry at Asgore, or herself, but oh it was so much easier to focus the rage on the unnamed human kid. The notes rang out from the piano with more force now. That's right… without the kid's soul, everyone would remain trapped down here. Overcrowding and lack of sunlight would continue to deplete everyone's hopes. Undyne had failed in her charge to free monsterkind, and it pissed her off.

A knock sounded at the door and she stopped her playing with a startled jump.

'Oh, right, Papyrus is supposed to have his cooking lesson. Better put on the happy face; he didn't deserve the attitude you gave him earlier. You got so mad at him for not being able to kill the human, when not even you could do it! Ha.'

Shaking off the annoying voice in her head, Undyne set her trademark huge grin on her lips and walked over to open the door as if nothing was wrong.

" **Hi, Papyrus!** " To her relief, the skeleton looked like his usual cheerful self, as if nothing had happened between them. " **Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?** "

" **YOU BET I AM! AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!** "

It was a good thing that Undyne had had many years of practicing her poker-face, or she wouldn't have been able to keep in a laugh at her protégée's shenanigans. As it was, she didn't care who he brought, she was just happy that he was acting normal. Papyrus moved aside so Undyne could greet whoever was with him.

" **Hi, I don't think we've…** "

Who had she been expecting, really? After the massive collection of frustrations this day had been, who else would it be? The little human stood there, smiling hopefully, even giving her a shy wave.

'Papyrus, you're going to give me a fucking stroke… and monsters can't even have strokes!'

She realized she was staring at the human rather murderously and glanced over at Papyrus, who didn't speak and instead just gave her an innocent, wide smile. God damn him. There were not words to describe how much self-control Undyne used to keep her voice even.

" **Why don't. You two. Come in?** "

* * *

Yes, this was definitely the longest day ever. Undyne couldn't bring herself to regret it, in the end. Sure, the hangout had been awkward. Sure, the fight had been pathetic. Sure, her house had burned down. And yet… she felt relieved. She'd made friends with the kid, Papyrus had been right. Undyne felt very sure that, if any human could make it through the Underground without killing or being killed, it would be that kid.

Thankfully, Papyrus had the good grace not to be too smug when she showed up at his house to crash until her home could be repaired. His speech about how he'd just known that she and the human would be good friends only lasted half an hour; she'd gotten off easy.

The two stood outside his house just talking, mostly. In spite of how much Undyne hated the cold, it was unbelievably nice to just relax with a friend for once. Occasionally the kid would call from Waterfall, Snowdin Forest, or Hotland, and update Papyrus and Undyne on their trip.

Several times, the conversation got a bit too close to Undyne's feelings about Alphys, so she wasn't surprised when Papyrus hung up the phone and wanted to talk about it.

" **UNDYNE, WE ARE FRIENDS, CORRECT?** "

" **Don't be dumb, of course we are.** "

" **AND FRIENDS ARE HONEST ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS?** "

" **Um… well… I'm feeling I don't like where this is headed.** "

" **UNDYNE, YOU WISH TO DATE ALPHYS, DO YOU NOT?** "

Shit. The fish monster's face felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't put a sentence together to save her life for a solid two minutes. That seemed to be as good as a yes to Papyrus.

" **YOU MUST TELL HER AT ONCE! SHE IS YOUR FRIEND TOO, I JUST KNOW THAT SHE'D ENJOY A DATE WITH YOU!** "

Why, why of all people to find out about her long time crush did it have to be Papyrus, the one person who would never let it go?!

" **Look, punk, I… I don't… it's just… UGH! I don't know how to ask her, alright? It's not so easy to just walk up to someone you like and put it out there!** "

" **OH, THAT IS A PROBLEM. HMM…** " Papyrus snapped his fingers, looking inspired. " **I'VE GOT IT! YOU'LL WRITE HER A LETTER! GIRLS LOVE ROMANTIC LETTERS… I THINK. SHE'LL HAVE TO DATE YOU THEN!** "

Embarrassing as it was, Undyne had to admit that wasn't a terrible idea. It would be a lot easier to confess on paper than out loud. Still, she had to threaten to suplex him at least ten times while writing the damn thing since he kept trying to read over her shoulder or dictate romantic things she should say.

After sealing it, she looked over at Papyrus uncertainly. " **But won't it be kind of weird if I deliver it to her myself…? What if she reads it in front of me?** "

" **HMM. WAIT, OUR HUMAN FRIEND HAS MET ALPHYS, HAVEN'T THEY? PERHAPS THEY COULD DELIVER IT FOR YOU, THEY SEEM VERY TRUSTWORTHY!** "

And that was how Undyne ended up calling the human, asking them over, and thrusting the letter into their hands after asking them to give it to Alphys. Their response was an eager nod and thumbs-up, and they left pretty quickly. Undyne was a little suspicious that they'd picked up what this might be about… but she had other things on her mind.

" **Oh my god. Papyrus… what in the heck am I going to wear if she says yes?! I can't show up like this,** " she gestured to her tank top and jeans, " **on our first date!** "

Papyrus actually looked thrilled at her distress… but Undyne knew he was just happy to be able to help her, for once, instead of it being the other way around. " **YOU'RE QUITE RIGHT, UNDYNE! SPECIAL CLOTHES ARE ESSENTIAL ON DATES! FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, YOU ARE FRIENDS WITH THE MOST FASHIONABLE SKELETON IN SNOWDIN!** "

" **…Aren't you and Sans the only skeletons in...?** "

" **TO THE CLOSET OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!** "

She had to admit, examining herself in the mirror later, that Papyrus was pretty damn good at this. He'd managed to dig up a nice blazer and scarf that flattered her, and even helped with her hair and makeup. When he was finished, Undyne found herself liking what she saw before her.

" **Heh… thanks, Papyrus. I look really good.** "

" **NYEH HEH HEH! BUT OF COURSE YOU DO, UNDYNE, YOU SHOULD EXPECT NO LESS FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!** "

All that was left was to wait, anxiously, for Alphys's answer. There was something bothering Undyne, though, something she couldn't quite put her finger on… until she remembered and screamed loudly, scaring Papyrus into jumping six feet in the air.

" **Oh my god! I didn't sign the letter!** "


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Confessions

** **"Bold text in quotation marks signifies words spoken aloud."** _'Italicized text enclosed with apostrophes signifies a character's thoughts.'_ **

Undyne finds Alphys and the two finally lay it all out on the table.

 **Chapter Fourteen: Confessions**

Undyne found Alphys at the place where they had first met; the garbage dump. Like that day, back some fifteen years ago, the little yellow lizard monster was staring out into the abyss beyond the river. The head of the guard approached, making sure to be loud with her steps so she wouldn't startle Alphys. The royal scientist was a bit too close to the edge for Undyne's liking.

Alphys didn't even look up at Undyne's approach. The fish monster hesitated a moment before placing her hand on the shorter female's shoulder. " **Hey.** "

" **H-hi, Undyne.** "

Undyne glanced between the abyss and Alphys several times in the long silence, the feelings that had overcome her while writing the letter welling up inside again. She cared so much for Alphys. Besides Kel, she was her oldest friend. Beyond that, she'd had a crush on the nerd since their school days. But she'd waited so long to say anything… was it too late now? Could Alphys really feel the same way for Undyne? Was it fair to expect her to, knowing all the awful things Undyne had done in the name of her duty?

" **Alphys, I…** "

" **Undyne, there's something…** "

Both had started talking at the same time, and both paused to chuckle awkwardly at that fact.

" **Y-you first, Undyne.** "

" **Alphys. I want to know the real reason you thought I wouldn't like you. I… didn't want to say anything in front of the kid, but… you know me better than most. You know I don't care what you use seaweed for, or that you watch anime, or that you read comics or any of that stuff you said. I've known about that for years. I guess what I'm trying to say is… there's nothing that could make me not like you, Alphys. Whatever you think you've done, it can't be bad enough to change how I feel.** "

Beneath Undyne's hand, Alphys had started tensing, her shoulder trembling. Alphys was crying.

" **Undyne… y-you c-c-can't understand… Wh-what I've done, there's n-no way to forgive…** "

Undyne could feel that Alphys was going to run. She was going to push Undyne away again… going to put up her walls and keep everyone that wanted to help her, out. Undyne gently turned the other monster to face her, drawing her back a few steps from the abyss.

" **Okay, I'll go first. Alphys… I've killed human children. I'm sure you knew about at least one of them. Asgore had the royal guard collect those six human souls to help break the barrier. Gerson got three, I got three.** " This was the first time Undyne had ever spoken about this. Her voice shook a little, but Alphys looked steadier, having been distracted from her own guilt for a moment.

" **B-but it was self d-defense, right? I mean, they attacked y-you first?** "

" **No. I attacked them. The first one… her name was Annie. She was the sweetest little kid, Alphys, you could tell right away by looking at her. Tiny little thing, even shorter than the kid we know. She was cute, with dorky glasses and a thick sweater and a big notebook she scribbled stuff in. Sure, she killed one monster, but it was a total accident. And I… I… she…** "

After so many years of holding it in, Undyne was horrified to hear all the guilty feelings and thoughts she'd had over the children come pouring out of her. Kel had been right; it hadn't been healthy to keep it all inside, and now the dam had burst.

" **I killed her, Alphys, in cold blood… she didn't fight. She didn't hurt me. She begged me not to kill her, and I… Then there was Vickie, that dancer girl, she made so many monster friends in Snowdin… She played the piano like a dream, so much better than me, Alphys. Vickie was strong, and brave, and such a fighter! But in the end she was a scared kid trying to fight her way home from a strange world. Even that other kid, the one with the gun… I never heard his name, but he was just afraid, he didn't… he was defending himself when he shot Kel and me, I know that, he had to have been frightened…** "

Undyne didn't know it, was too far gone to be aware of it, but tears were falling fast from her good eye. Alphys was silent, but the stubby fingers of both her hands enveloped Undyne's larger one, trying to give the other monster any sign that she wasn't alone, that it was okay to keep going.

The fish monster drew in a shuddering breath, releasing it in a wild half-laugh, half-sob. " **Don't you see, Alphys? No matter what you've done… you could never be as horrible as me! I'm a murderer, a child-killer, do you see now? If one of us doesn't deserve the other… I don't deserveyou**."

That was it. Now Alphys finally knew the truth about Undyne. If she were to run now, the fish monster wouldn't be able to fault her in the slightest. Who could want to be with a killer like her?

Seeing Undyne come unglued like this seemed to awaken something new in Alphys, something she almost never had; confidence. Reassurance that everything would be okay, and the desire to make Undyne understand that she could be forgiven.

Quietly, the lizard monster led Undyne over to one of the platforms in the trash river, sitting on it with her to begin her tale. She explained all of it, all of her lies. Her lies to Asgore, about Mettaton being a robot with a soul rather than just a ghost in a heart core, about being competent enough to research and understand the nature of souls.

Undyne's quiet sobs slowly subsided as Alphys continued. The smaller monster revealed her experiments on golden flowers, her horrible failures with Determination, and her lies to the grieving families of those who had fallen down.

" **I ah… actually had j-just finished t-taking those monsters back to their f-families before I came here. I um… I also lied to our human f-friend, for a l-long time before their b-big fight with M-M-Mettaton. I wanted them t-to think I w-was smart and important, so I m-made up puzzles and d-dangerous situations so they would th-think I was helping. Just so I could feel better about myself… That's why I think y-you wouldn't like m-me, Undyne. Under all the d-deceit, I'm n-not a good person.** "

" **You're wrong.** " Undyne's hand twitched within Alphys's, and the lizard monster let go at once. A little squeak of surprise left Alphys's lips when Undyne embraced her. " **You are a good person, Alphys. You're not perfect, sure. You don't have much confidence and you lie to try and make people like you, to avoid hurting people. But you're nice and considerate and so damn smart.** "

Alphys shook her head, and Undyne pulled back to look the other monster squarely in the face.

" **Don't do that. It's true. Why do you think I've liked you for so long, Alphys? You're a brilliant engineer, look at the body you built Mettaton! Look at the kickass sword you made me when we were barely more than kids! Your ice cream machine, those puzzle games in Hotland, you can't seriously sit there and tell me you don't have a gift. And I meant what I said before. You're passionate about what you do, no matter what it is! That look you get when you're thinking about something you care for… I could…** "

Undyne stopped talking when she realized that she'd been about to say something incredibly sappy. She looked away from Alphys at last, giving a small and awkward laugh. The fish monster was surprised when Alphys reached up and turned her head to make Undyne face her again.

" **I l-like you a lot t-too, Undyne. F-for a long time I've liked you. You're always smiling, even wh-when you don't feel like it. Y-You're so energetic and d-determined to do y-your best."** Undyne felt a little twist in her stomach when she saw that Alphys was blushing. **"A-and you were n-nice to me, when I d-didn't have many other friends… even though I'm j-just a nerdy loser, y-you always made m-me feel special.** "

" **You are, Alphys…** "

" **Undyne, wh-when we get out of h-here… Would you w-want to g-go…** "

" **Hey, wait, no, I wanted to ask you on a date! Not fair! I wanted to ask first, dammit, I demand a rematch!** "

The two of them dissolved into laughter, breaking the tension that had built. They were both smiling and feeling like a huge burden had been swept away. No matter what, each of them now had someone who knew it all, all their darkest secrets, someone who saw their entire being. And both were safe in the knowledge that in spite of everything, that person would never abandon them.

Undyne snagged Alphys's hand and grinned down at the other monster. " **So. Where would you want to go on that date, hmm?** "

" **I d-don't care where w-we go. Anywhere is p-perfect when I'm with you.** "

Damn, how did she do that?! To just take Undyne's breath away like that, it wasn't fair.

" **Ha… um… okay. I'd kinda like to visit the beach.** "

" **That s-sounds great.** "

Undyne's phone rang suddenly, making both monsters jump. As tempting as it was to throw the damn thing into the abyss, Undyne glanced at the screen and saw Papyrus's name. " **Ugh. Sorry, Alphys, gotta take this.** "

" **Of c-course.** "

She put the phone on speaker. " **Sup, Papyrus?** "

" **UNDYNE, YOU MUST GO TO ASGORE RIGHT AWAY! HE'S GOING TO FIGHT THE HUMAN, WE HAVE TO STOP HIM BEFORE ANYONE GETS HURT! TOGETHER I KNOW WE CAN TALK HIM OUT OF IT, PLEASE MEET ME THERE!** "

Undyne and Alphys exchanged a worried look.

" **On my way.** "

 _((Thanks so much for reading, guys! I might do one more chapter concluding with everyone making it to the surface, but... I kind of like where this leaves off, since everyone who plays True Pacifist knows what happens anyway. We'll see how it shakes out. Thanks again for sticking with my silly little story, I hope it did Undyne some justice!))_


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